Obituary for Kenneth R. Darre
Kenneth Robert Darre, 93, of River Forest, Illinois died on July 11, 2020 at the Symphony of Buffalo Grove Nursing Facility.
Ken was born on January 23, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, to Henry Frank Darre and Loretta Thorn Darre. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Aldis Paul Darre and Robert J. Darre and his beloved wife, Lauretta Regan Darre (née Schultz).
He is survived by his three devoted step-children John Regan, Laurie Regan Chase and Nancy Regan MacIntosh and his brothers extended families.
Ken dropped out of Oak Park River Forest High School at age 17 to enlist in the US Navy. He trained as a corpsman at Great Lakes and in San Diego and was stationed on the hospital ship U.S. Sanctuary (AH-17) with the rank of Pharmacists Mate as WWII ended. Upon his release from service at age 21, Ken re-enrolled to finish his final year of high school at Oak Park River Forest HS and then enrolled in and graduated from the University of Illinois.
Ken had a long career with Montgomery Wards in Chicago serving as Corporate News and Field Public Relations Director in the 1970’s and Consumer Affairs manager in the 1980’s.
Ken and his parents had been long term residents of Oak Park where Ken served as an usher at St. Edmund Catholic Church for 40 years. He and his wife Lauretta had been parishioners of St. Luke Catholic Church since moving to River Forest in 1991.
Due to the pandemic, memorial services were held privately.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Catholic Charities of Chicago.
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