Kenneth Harrison Obituary

Harrison, M.D.
KENNETH DALE HARRISON, M.D.
May 13, 1943 - April 9, 2019
Kenneth Dale Harrison passed away at his home on April 9, 2019 after a three-year battle with melanoma. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 13, 1943, the younger of two boys born to the late Louis G. and Tilda R. Harrison.
Ken moved with his family to Gary,. Indiana, where he spent his elementary, middle school and high school years. He graduated from Horace Mann High School, where he was voted the King of Dance his senior year Growing up, Ken always loved playing sports, including basketball at the YMCA, short-stop for his baseball team and captain of the golf team.
He attended Purdue University and was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. Ken graduated from Purdue after 3 years and was admitted to Indiana University School of Medicine, where he received his M.D. in 1968. He was a lifelong Purdue Boilermaker and continued to root for them during the March Madness tournament of 2019.
He met Barbara Louise Button of Indianapolis in 1966 and they became engaged in March of 1967. They married in Indianapolis on September 16, 1967 and had two beautiful daughters, Jennifer and Amy.
Upon completion of his internship and residency in OB-Gyn at St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, he was drafted into the Army and stationed at Ft. Carson, Colorado for two years. During his time at Fort Carson, he and Barbara decided that they loved Colorado Springs so much that they couldn't imagine living anywhere else. He spent the next 32 years working in obstetrics and gynecology at the Colorado Springs Medical Center with a fantastic group of partners. He loved delivering babies, delivering thousands during his career, and taking care of patients. One of Ken's greatest joys was to see the delight of each new mom and dad with the birth of their baby.
Ken adored his family, chocolate, peanut butter, sports and practical jokes (not necessarily in that order). He loved April 1st, but he never really needed a reason to pull a joke on any of his family members. Some of those pranks included giving his wife a box of chocolates that were actually chocolate covered ants, shocking his son-in-law with an electrified beer can, convincing his daughters every year on April 1 that school was canceled because of a blizzard, and gifting his daughters with any and all exploding and water drenching gifts that he could find.
He loved to dance as well as sing, and brought the house down at The Golden Bee the night of his and Barbara's 50th Anniversary when he sang a rousing rendition of "Back Home Again in Indiana".
Golf was Ken's passion both before and during retirement. His game continuously improved as he got older and he loved playing as often as he could with family and friends.
Ken was a member of the El Paso County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, The Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, The Garden of the Gods Club and Kissing Camels Golf Club.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Tilda, his brother, Bob and sister-in-law, Louise. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, his daughters, Jennifer (Jeffrey) O'Malley and Amy H. Ruhl, and his grandchildren, Harrison O'Malley, Hailey O'Malley, Jack Ruhl and William Ruhl, as well as numerous loving extended family members.
Ken was a man of integrity and kindness and will be dearly missed.
The family would like to express our sincere thanks to Interim Hospice who helped care for Ken during the last weeks of his life.
Ken requested a Celebration of Life be held at a later date. The Celebration of Life will be held at the Garden of the Gods Club on July 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation (melanoma.org) or the American Cancer Society (cancer.org).