Kenelm W. Doak ’49

Ken died Nov. 13, 2019, in Concord, N.H., his home for many years.

He was born in Philadelphia, one of 10 children, and came to Princeton from Penn Charter School. At Princeton he played JV soccer and took his meals at Cloister Inn. Planning to have a career in mechanical engineering, he earned  a BSE degree with honors.

After 21 months in the Navy, Ken entered Harvard Business School. In 1956 he married Ann Booth Young of Whitford, Pa., and they moved to Concord, where Ken joined Richard D. Brew & Co. as chief engineer of the vacuum-furnace division. This involved a great deal of design and engineering work for their high-vacuum thermal equipment, including field supervision for the installation of many highly sophisticated measuring devices.

After retiring, Ken volunteered at the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance and the Society for Industrial Archaeology. His many personal activities and interests included cooking, bread baking, French, poetry writing, and, yes, figure skating.

Ken was predeceased by son Christopher in 2017. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Chandler Doak; and his best friend, Mary Hall. To them we offer our sympathy and admiration for a life well lived.