Kenneth F. Santure's Obituary
Kenneth Santure, born March 15, 1931 in Ypsilanti, Michigan married Carol Felt from Carleton, Michigan September 24, 1955. They adopted two children, Terry A. 55 now retired from the Navy and Janis Marie, 53 preceded her father May 20, 2017. Janis gave birth to three beautiful children, Carissa Tunis, 34, Christopher Tunis, 33 and Nathan Tunis, 31. Christopher who enlisted in the Army and while stationed in Germany married Sabrina has two children, Brandon Christopher, 7 and Rylee Marie, 3; Carissa has two children, Alyssa Mae Gaskins, 10 and Kelsey Rene Gaskins, 9.
Carol was the first to find her soul mate when she was 14 at a roller rink in Sumpter, Michigan. Ken was a wild and crazy man on skates and Carol envied the girls who danced with him. She asked someone if they knew his name. “Ken Santure” she heard and never forgot the name. At 16 she encountered him again when he gave her and a girlfriend a lift while walking on the road. The girlfriend knew him so she slid across the front seat first of Ken’s 1949 Ford convertible - Carol glanced over seeing his shirt sleeves rolled up to a quarter length and thought that was neat, wishing she would be the one to sit next to him.
There was one more encounter while standing around with some friends when a car with four guys pulled up…three knew her friends but there in the back seat on the far side was Ken. They all made dates but he made no move to ask her out and she was so very disappointed. However, the best was to come. She was 18 this time and just graduated from high school when her friend, who was going with Ken’s friend, asked if she would like to go on a blind date with Ken Santure? There was that name again. “Ken Santure.” She said as calmly as she could, "Yes." (Carol later referred to it as a ‘half blind’ date.) Taking her address with him, he was leaving to go overseas to Japan to do his stint in the Army Signal Corp to repair cameras. A few ‘Air Mail’ letters flew back and forth. A year and a half later he returned to the states where his job was waiting at the Ford Motor Company and the Ford Trade school, learning to be a machine repair machinist.
The final encounter was when Ken looked up Carol, not sure she would still be available. The rest is a history that ended with 62 years of wedded bliss. They continued through those years telling each other how much they loved one another; always a kiss and an “I Love You” each night before sleep.
The story doesn’t quite end there – Ken moved into the Spiritual World October 21, 2017 and he remains in Carol’s heart forever.
What’s your fondest memory of Kenneth?
What’s a lesson you learned from Kenneth?
Share a story where Kenneth's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Kenneth you’ll never forget.
How did Kenneth make you smile?