Rev. Kenneth F. HaskellEnid, OK

Kenneth Franklin Haskell was born on Friday, July 12, 1935, in Detroit, Michigan, to William Clifford and Bertha Johanna Martha nee Klann Haskell. He was baptized into Christ on August 11, 1935. He attended Stephanus Evangelical Lutheran School from the first through the ninth grades, then Cass Technical High School in Detroit. During the last half of his senior high school year he decided to study for the Holy Ministry. He then attended St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas. He remembered his days at St. John’s College as some of the very best years of his life. He graduated in 1956.

In the Fall of 1956 he entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri from which he graduated on May 31, 1961. During his seminary training, he spent his year of vicarage at Ascension Lutheran Church, Landover Hills, Maryland. He and his first wife, Ruth Ann nee Kwasniewski, were married July 16, 1961. Their marriage was blessed with four children.

Pastor Haskell’s first call was to be a missionary in the “Chain of Lakes” area in northern Illinois. A congregation (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church) was soon established, and its first building dedicated two years later. In January of 1970 he accepted the call of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Greeneville, Tennessee. Greeneville is in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. He served there for about five years.

In 1974 he became the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, North Little Rock, Arkansas. He served as pastor of Trinity for about ten and a half years. While there he served on the pilot committee of Lutheran Social Services of Arkansas, then on its first board of directors, and then as the part-time Executive Director. He served in that position for about a year.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1984, he and his family moved to Winfield, Kansas, to serve as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. This pastorate was filled with changes. St. John’s College closed at the end of the 1985-1986 school year, its 93rd year, and many of the faculty and staff were members of the congregation. While at Trinity, his first wife, Ruth, died of cancer on July 26, 1987.

Ken and Karen Dorsch, a former instructor at St. John’s College, were married on June 25, 1988. At the end of May, 1989, he and his family moved to Ulysses, Kansas, where he was installed as pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church on June 4, 1989, the 28th anniversary of his ordination.

Ken retired on February 28, 1998. He and Karen moved to Winfield, Kansas, living there until 2021 when they moved to Enid, OK. While living in Winfield, Ken was the chaplain at Good Samaritan Society for 17 years. He led a weekly Sunday service for the residents, leading the singing of hymns along with a brief message. The people loved to hear him sing and he always greeted them with a smile. He also enjoyed woodworking and made several pieces of furniture for their home and for Karen’s mother. He brought humor to the senior citizen group at Trinity Lutheran each month, sang in the choir, and did occasional pulpit supply to area churches

After moving to Enid, Ken also did pulpit supply for Lutheran churches in the area. Ken and Karen were members at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Enid where he served as an elder, sang in the choir and also brought humor to the senior citizen group there. He was affectionately known at Redeemer as Pastor Ken.

He died in the Lord on October 10, 2026 at the age of 91.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Ruth, granddaughter Erin Ayala, son-in-law Raymond Ayala, and a nephew, Andrew Wolf. He is survived by his wife, Karen nee Dorsch of the home, daughter Beth Joy Ayala and grandchildren Daniel and Rebecca of Elgin, Texas; three sons Andrew Philip of Atlanta, Georgia, Joel David of Austin, Texas, and Timothy Luke (Anne) and grandchildren Patrick and Katya of Erlangen, Germany; a brother Robert (Carol) of Woodhaven, Michigan; Rev. Timothy (Ruth) Dorsch of Enid, Oklahoma, Rev. Gary (Susan) Wolf of Hoisington, Kansas; and Mary Dorsch of Winfield as well as nieces and nephews Bobby and Jason Haskell, Ben (Kathie) Dorsch, Daniel (Angie) Dorsch, and Philip Wolf.
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Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Ken’s confirmation verse was a guiding light all throughout his life and ministry.
Funeral Service for Ken will be 10:00 am Monday, October 19, 2026, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Enid, OK. Burial will be 3:30 pm in the Highland Cemetery at Winfield, KS under the direction of Anderson-Burris Funeral Home and Crematory. Memorials may be made through the funeral home to Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105, Redeemer Lutheran Church, 215 S. Cleveland St, Enid, Oklahoma 73703, or Hospice Circle of Love, 314 S 3rd St, Enid, Oklahoma 73701.