Kenneth John Lenish, 84, passed away peacefully at VNA Hospice House In Vero Beach, Florida on March 20, 2024. He was born on November 21, 1939 in Endicott, New York to the late John and Ruth Lenish. He was their only child.
Ken is survived by the love of his life, Barbara Bidwell Lenish, his wife of 63 years. He is also survived by sons Michael (Meg), Charles, and grandsons John, Christopher, and Jeffrey.
A 1957 graduate of Union-Endicott High School, Ken began his long career at IBM Endicott that same year. He worked in engineering and later as a Program Manager. Ken took an assignment in Boeblingen, Germany in 1975. The family spent 2 years traveling throughout Europe and even attended the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
Ken (aka: “Buck”) loved to laugh. He and Barb were avid polka dancers and went to dances and polka fests in the Binghamton area and all over the Northeast. They traveled to San Juan, St. Thomas, Panama and Alaska on polka cruises and were members of the Bill Flynn Polka Fan Club Dancers.
Ken retired from IBM in 1992. He enjoyed working at Leon Pucedo Funeral Home until Barb retired in 1995. After that Ken and Barb split their time between Endwell and Sandy Pond in the summers and Vero Beach in the winters before settling in Vero Beach permanently in 2018. Ken and Barb had fun attending dances and events at the Polish-American Social Club of Vero Beach.
Ken loved spending time with family and friends. Ken cherished time with his three grandsons. He and Barb attended their many sporting events and band concerts. They loved hosting the grandkids at their Sandy Pond camp as well. Golf was a favorite pastime for Ken and he especially loved to play with his son, Chuck. Ken loved the many PGA events he attended such as The Masters, Pebble Beach, and the Ryder Cup. Ken also enjoyed hunting, fishing, and boating.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday April 9th from 5-7pm at Leon Pucedo Funeral Home in Endicott. A funeral service and celebration of Ken’s life will be held on Wednesday April 10th at 11am at Endwell United Methodist Church. Entombment will follow at Riverhurst Cemetery in Endwell.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to VNA Hospice House at 92037th Place, #101, Vero Beach, FL 32960 (or online at vnatc.org).