Kenneth Whitham ’62

Ken grew up in Ridgefield, Conn., graduating from St. Luke’s School in New Canaan. At Princeton, he majored in electrical engineering, was a research assistant in the Elementary Particles Laboratory, was active at WPRB, and dined at Campus Club.

Ken received a master’s degree in physics from the University of Southern California in 1964 and remained a California resident the rest of his life. From 1979 to 1999, he served as a project leader at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. From then until 2016, he held several positions at Siemens Corp., including as a principal engineer. During his years at Siemens, sometimes with a partner, he was awarded 16 patents for advances in the linear accelerators used for radiation treatment of cancer.

Ken married Judie Fulton in 1962. They had five children and shared a deep Christian faith. For pleasure, Ken played the piano and the trombone. Together they enjoyed bluegrass music, boating, camping, golf, gardening, and gathering with friends and family.

Judie died in December 2024. Ken died May 29, 2025. They were preceded in death by two of their children, David and Wendy, and are survived by children Chris, Karen, and Ken and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.