Kenneth Hugh Tetrick, 70, of Minneapolis passed away Feb. 20, 2017, at his home.

Ken was born in Boscobel, Wis., on Oct. 4, 1946, to Kathryn Christina (Boebel) Tetrick and Walter Kenneth Tetrick. The launch of Sputnik on Ken’s 11th birthday inspired a life-long interest in physics/astronomy and science in general. He attended the community school in Woodman, Wis., through 8th grade, followed by high school in Boscobel, Wis., graduating in 1964. Ken studied physics and astronomy at Luther College from 1964-66, earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and took courses at The University of Minnesota. True to values that Ken expressed throughout his life, his respect for life, led him to declare himself a conscientious objector during the Vietnam Conflict.

Over the course of his life, Ken deeply pursued a series of interests including computer programming, photography, Christian faith, yoga, marksmanship, music synthesizers, and amateur radio, among others. Most recently Ken developed an interest in tinkering with and flying quadcopters. On several occasions Ken exceeded the capabilities of these vehicles, resulting in their loss to trees and tops of buildings. Ken enjoyed following and cheering on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Hockey team. Ken shared his life with many cats over the years including Kitty Cat, Inga, Lucy, Traveler, and Kitty.

Ken applied his interests and talents to his career, working in designing and testing computer firmware in Minnesota at Honeywell/Alliant Techsystems, Integris, and DataCard Group, and at Esterline AVISTA in Platteville, Wis. While working at DataCard, Ken was inventor on a patent describing a process for encoding micrographic information for security purposes within a picture on a credit card.

Ken’s gentle and inquisitive nature will be deeply missed by his brothers Steven C. Tetrick of Minneapolis, Mark A. Tetrick (Cathy), nephew Bryce A. Tetrick, and niece Lily C. Tetrick, of West Chester, Ohio. Ken was preceded in death by his parents and by an infant brother John Isaac Tetrick. A celebration of Ken's life will be held in Boscobel, Wis., in July 2017. Memorials can be made to the Animal Humane Society, [email protected] (763) 489-2210.