Dr. Kenneth Joseph Printen

It is with heavy but full hearts that Dr. Kenneth Joseph Printen’s family announce his passing on July 17, 2025, in Waukee, Iowa, where he and Jenny, his beloved wife of sixty-three years, recently relocated to be close to the youngest of their grandchildren.

Ken‘s was a life well lived. He was born on December 7, 1936. He grew up on the North Side of Chicago, attended Loyola Academy, where he won multiple academic and theatrical scholarships, and went on to study at Loyola University and The Stritch School of Medicine. During his residency at Cook County Hospital, Ken met a nurse named Janice “Jenny” Jenkins, and they were married on August 8, 1962. He served in the Army for two years in Okinawa, where he was Commander of a medical unit and a Special Forces support hospital. He would continue to serve his country in the Army Reserves, achieving the rank of Brigadier General.

After completing his residency, Ken and Jenny moved their growing family to Iowa City, Iowa, where he would serve as Professor of Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals. While in Iowa, Ken pioneered many advances in bariatric surgery, starred in many local theater productions, and served as team doctor for the City High football team. In 1987, Ken accepted the position of Chief of Surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, and continued to serve as President and board member to organizations like the Illinois State Medical Society, CIMRO and the Midwest Surgical Association, among many others. Ken retired from medical practice in 2005 to focus on his passions for military history and miniature toy soldiers, the publication of a history of surgery at Cook County Hospital, and, most importantly, doting on his grandchildren.
Ken's list of awards, accomplishments, and publications is exhaustive, but he wasn’t one to dwell on such accolades. He possessed an enduring intellectual curiosity and a razor-sharp wit, but was always sure to make everyone, regardless of status, rank, or experience, feel at ease. New acquaintances quickly felt as if they had long been the best of friends. Colleagues, students, patients, and friends knew him as humble, kind, and gracious. Ken’s compassion for others was more than mere friendliness—he extended tolerance and respect to all, especially those most in need. He treated his patients as whole human beings, deserving, no matter their circumstances, of God’s grace. Ken was a teacher as well as a healer, and an entire generation of students and mentees were the beneficiaries of his expertise, good humor, and patience. Many cite Dr. Printen’s influence as formative to their professional and personal identities today.

Ken relished most of all his roles as husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother. Even with his busy schedule, he was a constant presence in his children’s lives, attending their extracurricular activities, building them intricate playsets, entertaining them with his playful sense of story, rhyme, and song, and offering them sage advice when they encountered obstacles in their own lives. Along the way, he modeled a value system built around hard work, equality, and service to others. It is no coincidence that many of Ken and Jenny’s children (and grandchildren) have gone into healing and helping professions. Ken's thirteen grandchildren will long cherish Bumpa, or Papa’s, stories, his ringing laugh, and his whole-hearted way of listening. So many of us mourn the loss of this great man, yet we are the better for having known him.

Ken is survived by wife Jenny; son, John (Rebecca Tweedy); daughters, Lisa, Tracey (Colby Vargas), Kathryn (Tim Puszynski), and Alexis (Alex Lovinggood); grandchildren, Evangeline, Spencer, Madison, Drake, Avery, Isabel, Emilia, Trey, Lindy, Sophie, Elizabeth, Rosemary, Violet; and great-grandchildren, Autumn, Julia, and Rio; and his sister, Donna (Paul Lokjovic).

He was preceded in death by his mother, Therese, father, George, and grandson, Andrew.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 9, at St. Francis Church, in Wilmette, Il. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to your local animal shelter, Maryknoll Fathers Society, or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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