Kenneth H. Illingworth

Kenneth (Ken) Hendry Illingworth, 78, of Abingdon, MD, husband of Christina Aylor (Miller), passed away peacefully Friday, September 15, after a short stay in hospice.  A celebration of Ken’s life will be held at McComas Family Funeral Home, 50 W. Broadway, Bel Air, MD on Friday, September 29, from 3:00-5:00 pm.

Ken was born the oldest of three children on December 20, 1944, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Alfred and Margaret (Anderson) Illingworth. Ken attended the University of Edinburgh where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He often told stories of how he drove a taxi in Edinburgh to help pay for his schooling. He went on to earn a graduate certificate in Personnel Management at the University of Strathclyde.

After university, he began employment with Valentine’s of Dundee, where he developed a talent for picking out the best greeting card for any occasion, a talent he never lost. He also started a family with his first wife, Jennifer (Paige).

Perhaps it was a mid-life crisis that pushed Ken to move alone to the U.S in the 1980s. After several different cities and different companies, he eventually settled in Abingdon, MD where he worked as the VP of Marketing for Custom Direct, LLC. Living in Maryland, he inevitably became an ardent Ravens and Orioles fan.

Ken was an avid golfer and loved the time spent with his golfing buddies on the course. He was a longtime member of Winters Run Golf Club in Bel Air, and his long-standing foursome also played at Tanglewood Golf Course in Lancaster, PA, for years. He was proud of having played some of the great courses in Scotland - the Old Course at St. Andrews and The Royal Dornoch among others. It must be said that he also greatly enjoyed the time in the pub that followed each golf round.

Ken loved travel, along with good food and wine. He liked puzzles like sudoku, and he tackled the fiendishly cryptic crosswords in The Telegraph every day. He came of age with the Beatles and their music could always make him teary. Despite leaving Scotland, he was nostalgic for it to the end of his life.

Ken was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Alan, and sister, Lynne. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son David Illingworth (Zabrina), daughter Shona Carver (Sam), three granddaughters, Jade (Ross), Corrie, Regan, two great-grandchildren, Sadie and Zander, as well as nephews Zak, Kane, Douglas, Cameron, and niece Lauren.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.