Oct. 17, 2007 Obituaries

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Joseph Kenneth ‘Ken’ Whelan

Joseph Kenneth “Ken” Whelan, 92, of Flaherty, died Monday, Oct. 15, 2007. Ken was the last surviving sibling of 12 children born to Kendrick and Victoria Whelan. He was born on his family’s farm on B-Knob Hill Road and continued to live there until his death. Ken was an active member of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Father Diemert Assembly No. 3379. He was a veteran of World War II, a Kentucky Farm Bureau director and a Kentucky Colonel. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Michael Seymour. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Laverne Whelan; three daughters, Pat Ward and her husband, Jule, of Jeffersonville, Ind., Anita Seymour of Flaherty and Becky Beck and her husband, Ed, of Foster City, Calif.; four sons, Steve Whelan of Flaherty, Keith Whelan and his wife, Georgia, of Brandenburg, and Norbert Whelan and his wife, Robyn, and Mark Whelan and his wife, Jennifer, all of Louisville; 20 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

The funeral Mass is at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Flaherty with the Rev. Paul Beach officiating. Burial will be in the St. Martin Catholic Church Cemetery. Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday and continues from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at Nelson-Edelen-Bennett Funeral Home in Vine Grove where there is a prayer service at 7 p.m. Thursday. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Mass of the Air, 508 Breckinridge Lane, Louisville KY 40207-3833 or St. Martin Church Building Fund, 440 St. Martin Road, Vine Grove KY 40175. Condolences may be expressed online at www. nebfh.com.