Obituary of Kenneth Skoberg
Kenneth (Ken) James Skoberg, of Lougheed, Alberta passed away peacefully at the age of 67 on the morning of April 25, 2013 at the Killam Health Care Centre.
Ken was born the only son and the eldest in the family of three to the late Mervin & Hazel Skoberg on August 31, 1945 in Hardisty Alberta. He was raised on the farm a mile and a half east of Lougheed and attended public school in Lougheed and high school in Sedgewick graduating in 1963. In the fall of 1963, Ken enrolled into Mechanical Engineering Technology at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) where he graduated and began his career as a draftsman in the oilfield manufacturing industry.
His work in the oilfield occasionally took him away from home, and on one of those occasions, to Fort McMurrray. He spent the winter of 1972-73 in Fort McMurray in charge of the construction of a pilot project to remove oil from the oil sands for Texaco Canada. It was while in Fort McMurray that he met Birthe and they later got married on April 27, 1974
In the winter of 1975, Mervin and Hazel were visiting Ken and Birthe at their home in Calgary which led to conversations about them returning to the farm. This began a sequence of events that resulted in a major turning point in Ken & Birthe's life.
In 1992 he entered into municipal politics serving as a Flagstaff County Councilor for nine years until 2001, for eight of those years he provided leadership as the county Reeve. Ken also volunteered his time as President of the Battle River Progressive Conservative Association for many years. In 2007 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of AFSC (Agricultural Financial Services Corporation).
Ken was an active member of the community, he had a dedication and community minded spirit that was unparalleled. He served on many community boards in various capacities such as; Lougheed Ag Society, Lougheed Curling Club, Lougheed Rec Board, Lougheed Minor Ball, Lougheed Hall Board, Flagstaff County Ag Service Board, United Church Board.
Ken was very well known for his great leadership, analytical and critical thinking skills. He was always diplomatic and maintained a consistent sense of reasoning to which was admired by many.
Ken is survived by his wife Birthe, 4 children Tammy (Calvin), Erik (Melanie), Shawn (Anna) and Daniel (Shelly); 13 grandchildren; 2 sisters, Gwenda Poyser (Garland) and Linda Skoberg; numerous nieces and nephews. Ken was predeceased by his parents Mervin and Hazel Skoberg.
A memorial service for Ken will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at the Hardisty Community Centre. Memorial donations in memory of Ken may be made to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Lougheed Cemetery Fund, Lougheed Library, St. Andrew's United Church or a charity of the donor's choice.
