The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was sad to announce the passing of Reserve Sergeant Kendall M. Sanders Jr. After suffering the prolonged and devastating effects caused by H1N1 virus, Ken passed away on October 22nd, 2009. While in ICU at Kaiser Hospital in Riverside, Ken’s family and closest friends maintained a steady vigil at his bedside as he fought this battle for almost three months. With permission from the family, and after discussing all options with Ken’s physician and hospital administrators, Ken was removed from all life support measures.
Ken is survived by his wife Karen and sisters Kathy and Karen.
I’ve been a close friend of Ken’s for the better part of 22 years. He was “best man” at my wedding and he was the brother I never had. If you ask anyone who knew Ken, you would consistently hear stories of how he went above and beyond to help anyone in need, no matter the problem, no matter the time. He always seemed to give more than he received yet he never kept score. He just did it because he felt joy by helping out not only his friends, but others he hardly knew.
Ken was born on August 14th, 1963 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
· He was sworn in as Reserve Deputy Level -III on 1-22-92.
· Promoted to Level-II on 1-26-93.
· Promoted to Sergeant on 10-14-2002.
Ken’s most recent assignment was Investigations Reserve Unit, where he was assigned to Special Investigations. Other assignments include:
· The Special Enforcement Team for the city of San Juan Capistrano.
· The mounted unit.
Just in the past four years alone Ken donated almost 2,000 hours of his own time. Over the course of his 18 years of service to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the citizens of Orange County, Ken has donated thousands more. All of this was in addition to his regular full time job.
Ken was also a county employee, working at John Wayne Airport, as a “Shop Planner”. His responsibilities required him to arrange construction projects, locate and hire construction personnel and order the materials required to complete these projects. At the airport Ken’s affable spirit and winning personality earned him many loyal and steadfast friends. Several of these friends were at Ken’s side even in his final hours.
Ken was not only a gun owner, he was a gunslinger, who loved horseback riding and visiting Tombstone Arizona. He also loved Starbuck’s coffee, by the gallon, and good cigars… usually not more than one at a time.
Ken’s love and friendship will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.
With Respect,
Dominic Montalbano