Kenneth F. Clarke's Obituary
Kenneth F. Clarke, 63, of Crystal Beach, FL, died suddenly on February 10, 2014. He was born in Memphis, TN, October 15, 1950. After receiving a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee, Ken spent much of his 33-year public service career in Washington, DC, working first for the U.S. Government Accountability Office and subsequently at the Department of Energy and the Department of Treasury in the Office of Inspector General. He retired as Inspector General of the International Trade Commission in 2005. Throughout his federal career, he demonstrated outstanding communication, training, and managerial abilities. At the U.S. Government Accountability Office, he managed review of a federal program regulating transportation costs of importing crude oil into the Unites States, recovering from a major oil company $8 million in excess charges that had been passed through to the consumer. At the Department of Energy, he directed audits of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in New Orleans, LA and the Savannah River Plant in Aiken, SC. At the Department of the Treasury, he led the Office of Inspector General's oversight of the 1994 White House Security Review and supervised planning of the first nationwide U.S. Customs Service CFO audit. While at Treasury, he was selected to participate in the month long Leadership for the Future program at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA. After retiring from the federal government in 2005, Ken founded Kendia Corporation, providing quality assurance audit reviews to various organizations across the United States and internationally. He had a lifelong interest in interest in politics and history and was a proud Democrat. He loved movies, music, writing, and nature. His sense of humor was apparent to all who knew him. He married Dianne Fecteau in 1989. Together, they spent time hiking segments of the Appalachian Trail, covering over 800 miles of its 2,000 plus mile length. Dianne and Ken lived in Washington until 2006 when they moved to Crystal Beach. In 2013, he participated in a successful effort in Crystal Beach to prevent a private landowner's attempts to have public land vacated for the purpose of building a private dock that would have had disrupted the aesthetic view and environment.Survivors are his loving wife, Dianne Fecteau; their beloved Xoloitzcuintle dog, Chloe and Russian Blue cat, Basil; and his mother, Mildred Clarke of Dunedin.A service will be held Friday, February 21, 2014 at 10 AM at the Church of the Ascension, 701 Orange Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33756. In lieu of flowers, Dianne is asking that donations be made to the Florida Audubon Society (online at http://fl.audubon.org/why-support-audubon-florida or contributions may be sent to Audubon of Florida, 444 Brickell Ave, Suite 850, Miami, FL 33131).Arrangements under the direction of Moss Feaster Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Dunedin, FL.
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