K&B Hall of Fame Member held several patents in the lighting industry.

 

Kenneth E. Anderson, CKD, a lighting expert, founder of Task Lighting Corp. and a longtime member of NKBA, died on March 19 at Kearney Regional Medical Center in his hometown of Kearney, Neb. He was 75.

Ken owned and operated Anderson Kitchens for many years and was a national award-winning certified kitchen designer. He founded Task in 1985, a result of his frustration over the lack of incandescent under-cabinet lighting available in the kitchen and bath industry. Luche was the trade name for the company’s first lighting system, and it remains one of the mainstays for the firm today. Over the years, other concepts evolved, earning the executive three patents.

Today, Task conducts seminars to instruct designers on how to integrate lighting into their total design, and Anderson himself taught more than 100 Task seminars. He was also a frequent presenter at NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) educational courses.

He won multiple national design awards and held various NKBA leadership positions, including serving on the NKBA’s Board of Governors of Manufacturers and the KBIS Ad Hoc Committee. He was inducted into the Kitchen and Bath Hall of Fame in 2009.

Kenneth Eugene Anderson was born on January 8, 1944 in Kearney. He graduated in 1968 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He owned Task until retiring last fall. Ken has a Humanitarian Award named in his honor by a subgroup within the kitchen and bath industry. He was a strong supporter of young entrepreneurs including student mentoring, serving on the advisory board for the University of Nebraska, Kearney, College of Business and Technology.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; three sons:Brad and his wife, Kelle Hunt-Anderson; Scott and his wife, Jean, and Mike and his wife, Michelle, all of Kearney; grandchildren Misty, Levijames, Devin, Maddie and Max; sisters, Cheryl Schroeder of Columbus and Cindy Fahrenbruch and her husband, Jim, of Loomis; brother Tim and his wife, Carla, of Ashland; in-laws Bob Wiester of Kearney, Pat and Ken Beebe of North Bend, and Larry and Judy Keating of Valley, along with many other relatives and friends.

He was an active member in St. Luke’s and in the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska. Ken has served on many local committees to benefit the Kearney community including being a Colonel for the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, a past member of the Downtown Improvement Board, Kearney Public Schools Foundation Board, and most recently, president of the Central Nebraska Senior Golf Association. Ken was a talented artist, enjoyed golf but above all, he was a family man.

Memorials are suggested to the Ken and Linda Anderson Scholarship through UNK College of Business and Technology, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church or the Kearney Public Schools Foundation, all in Kearney, Neb.  Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com