Kenneth Gene Burkart (79), recently passed away at the Franklin Hills
Health & Rehabilitation Center. Ken was a lifelong resident of Spokane,
born to George and Leona Burkart in 1943. He spent his career serving
the residents of our city, working for the City of Spokane Solid Waste
Department. As a youth, he was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish,
later moving to St. Mary's Catholic Church in the Spokane Valley. He
graduated from Shadle Park High School. In retirement, he continued as an
active member of the community volunteering time with Spokane C.O.P.S.
to help provide a safe community for all while also helping out with the
Penny Drive for Joya Child and Family Services (formerly Spokane Guilds'
School & Neuromuscular Center). Ken was an avid hot rodder and had
been a member of the Dukes Auto Club and the Early Ford Club. He
frequently attended car shows around the region where he proudly
displayed and won multiple awards for his 1940 Ford Coupe.
Ken was lovingly known by different names to the family members who
now survive him – he was called Brother by his beloved sister, Sharon
Burkart of Spokane; Dad by his daughter Barbara Burkart of Post Falls, and

son and daughter-in-law Scott and Krista Burkart of Snohomish; and Papa
by his granddaughters Regan and Cassidy. He will be missed.