Kenneth Dale Magee, 78, of Bethlehem, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on March 19, 2021 at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem. He was a business executive with Mack Trucks, Inc. in Allentown from 1977 to 1998, 15 years of which he was Vice President of Parts Operations. After leaving Mack, Ken provided supply chain consulting for companies such as Samsung. Earlier in his career, Ken worked as a controller for Crane Carrier Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma and as an accountant with Peat Marwick Mitchell.

At the time of his passing, Ken was a long-time member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem, serving on the vestry and as lay reader. He was also a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Allentown for more than 25 years, serving in many leadership roles including Senior Warden, lay reader, and Sunday school teacher. He was a longtime Board member of the Housing Association and Development Corporation and he tirelessly provided HADC volunteer computer and IT support.

Survivors include his beloved wife of 56 years, Hattye Magee, and his treasured children, Lisa (Michael) Lawless, Jason Magee, John (Amanda) Magee, Laura Rowe (Brian Fairchild), Sarah Magee (Matthew Reinhart), and his dear siblings, David (Jan) Magee and Karen (Gary) Tiemann. A loving and devoted grandfather, he is survived by his grandchildren, Jason Monteverde, Christian Rowe, Jordan Lawless, Mikayla Rowe, Dunning Arent, Jake Magee, Connor Magee, Bryson Reinhart, Molly Magee, Brayden Reinhart, Blaise Reinhart, and Blake Reinhart. Ken was predeceased by his parents, Archie and Juanita Magee, his older infant sister Laura Magee, and his former sons-in-law Robb Arent and Christopher Rowe. He is survived by many nieces and nephews and a large extended family of in-laws.

Ken was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, a graduate of Fair Park High School, and obtained a BS in Accounting from Centenary College in Shreveport and an MBA from Lehigh University. He was a licensed CPA.

Services: Relatives and friends are invited to his visitation on Thursday, March 25th from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. in the JAMES FUNERAL HOME, 527 Center St., Bethlehem. Due to COVID -19 Restrictions, the funeral service will be private, however it will be live-streamed. From the menu bar click on pictures and videos and then on the webcast button. Masks and social distancing will be required in the funeral home.

A public celebration of life will be held at a later date when restrictions due to COVID-19 have been lifted and public gatherings are permitted again.

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, http://www.bethlehememergencysheltering.org/.

A few notes about Ken:
Ken was a determined, decisive man with great wisdom and keen intuition that he regularly called upon in his life and generously shared with his family and friends. The greatest application of this decisive intuition was 57 years ago when he first met Hattye, the love of his life and wife. Ken always credited Hattye with being essential to his life and career success and he showered her with unconditional and unending love, attention, and great praise. During his time with Mack Trucks Ken had the opportunity to travel throughout the country and the world, and Hattye went on virtually all of these trips.

Ken and Hattye were blessed with a large and loving family. A man of great kindness and tenderness, Ken showered Hattye and his children with attention, love, and praise. Ken doled out wisdom and life advice judiciously, with a gentle touch, which had a great influence on his children. He loved and encouraged his children to grow and nurtured and believed in their abilities and accomplishments. Having a large, boisterous family, Ken was imminently patient and kind and had a great sense of humor to laugh with his family and he had a self-deprecating nature that allowed him to laugh at himself.

A lifelong Christian, Ken regularly attended church and was a devoted church leader. He regularly read the Bible, making prayer and scripture study a life-long practice. He was understanding and accepting of others and was not judgmental or self-righteous in his beliefs. Ken truly lived a Christian life and treated others with kindness and respect and found the value in everyone.

As Ken and Hattye’s family grew and their children grew up and married, his life expanded to include sons-in-laws and daughters-in-laws, and later grandchildren. Spouses and partners were warmly welcomed into the family and Ken and Hattye lovingly adopted them as children. Ken was a wonderful grandfather, delighting in each of his 12 grandchildren and was a loving “big daddy,” “grandpa,” and “ah-pop” to them. He was a warm attentive grandfather who always had time for his grandchildren and children.

In his retirement over the last 20 years Ken enjoyed all of his time with Hattye, his children, and his grandchildren. Ken was a very happy, fulfilled man who always delighted in his life with his loved ones. The times he spent with his family have been precious and filled with love and laughs and lots of conversation.

Ken was a positive spirit who brought everyone up around him and who lifted others up and encouraged and praised the success and accomplishments of others including Hattye, his children, grandchildren, and friends. His beautiful soul and loving attention and encouragement live on in Hattye, his children, sons-in-law and daughter-in law, his grandchildren, friends, and neighbors.

A man of action and hard work his whole life, Ken enjoyed fixing things and solving problems. He often could be seen up on scaffolding or on a lift painting the outside of his large historic home in Bethlehem. Ken also was an avid reader and news aficionado, and he was a devoted patron of the Bethlehem Public Library.

During his life Ken overcome significant health challenges and he fought to overcome non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the 1990’s and bladder cancer this summer. His family thanks Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, including Dr. Andrew Zelenetz, Dr. Richard Steingart, and Dr. Guido Dalbagni, and all the staff at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem, who attended to Ken and his family with great care and compassion. Many thanks to Carolyn Morganelli, his primary health care provider at St. Luke’s South Mountain Family Practice.