Teddie Jordan

I want to say a few things about my old friend Ken, or Kenny as many of us knew him. I always called him String Bean and he liked it. He was a good man, very intelligent, worked hard, loved his famiily and son Christian, chased his dreams, and was a real character.

Ken had the imagination of an inventor and entrepreneur. In the late 70's he came up with what I still think is a good business idea. He liked to fish and got to thinking about how even the most dedicated fishermen just don't have the time to really use their boats that often. So he started a company called Outdoors Unlimited, based on Lake Conroe, selling time share units on various types of boats. For much less than the cost of buying and maintaining your own boat you could buy a time share unit of so many days use per year, and with a reservation they would have it gassed up and in the water ready for you to enjoy your day. There was also a membership level that would allow you to divide your usage among fishing boats, family boats, serious ski boats, or bigger cruisers. The business had some success, but was under capitalized and never was able to get over the hump and generate enough momentum to survive long term.

Another venture of Ken's was as an author. He had played baseball all of his life, little league then pony league when we were 14-15, high school at Waltrip, and on scholarship at a junior college and later at Baylor. He wrote a book called Beans About Baseball, which had many good points and suggestions on drills to teach baseball fundamentals to youngsters. It was in the later 80's I believe, before self publishing and the internet, and the big obstacle was financing the first run of publication. I participated as an investor along with others. The book was very well written and achieved some literary success and was on a best seller list for a time, but couldn't attract the larger market and was never a big money maker. I believe he may have written one or more addidtional books, but I lost contact with him in the 90's and following years.

Ken was also a pilot and a bit of a daredevil. He always wanted me to fly with him down to Matagorda Island where we would land on the beach in his small plane and fish the surf. He would tell me about a bridge somewhere along the way that we could fly under. It never worked out where I could go, and to be honest as I would consider going I would look into the eyes of our then young daughters and my dear bride Francine, and decide that they needed me to help raise them and that I should not take the risk.

I was very sorry to learn of Ken's death and will never forget him. See you on down the road old buddy.

Rest in Peace String!

(PS-  And a big thank you to Jenny Taylor who used her skills to track Ken down and subsequently talk to his widow and learn of his death. (As much as we all dread to hear of the death of another friend and classmate, it is much better to at least know of it so we can honor and remember them.)

William Donald Ansley

Kenneth Bean:  Our class clown.  Would have everyone laughing the moment the teacher would leave the room.  Loved to cut up.  R.I.P  buddy.

Sharon Drapela

I remember Kenneth well. He had a very outgoing personality, nice looking guy, and very friendly. My heart goes out to his family.

Sharon D.