Kenneth H. Drummond

of Bainbridge Island, Washington, died with grace on Tuesday, July 21, 2009, surrounded by family. He was affectionately known to his old friends as "Ole Drum. Ken was born on January 19, 1922 in Riverside, California to Mary Holland Drummond and Finlay McKay Drummond. The youngest of three boys, he grew up in La Jolla where his mother operated the Mira Monte Hotel on Prospect Street. He attended Bates College in Maine (where he arrived driving a convertible and wearing bright "California" clothes) and was inducted into the U.S. Navy's V-12 Program there during World War II. After receiving his commission he was attached to a fleet in the Pacific, eventually taking command of a Landing Craft Infantry during the Pacific campaigns as a Lieutenant Commander. Ken's two brothers, Finlay True Drummond and Donald Holland Drummond, served in the U. S. Navy during the same period. Donald survives him.After the war, Ken became interested in oceanography and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, where he received both a tennis scholarship and a trombone scholarship. He moved on to Texas A&M University for graduate work and became an enthusiastic and unapologetic Aggie; he attended a number of Aggie Musters during his life. At A&M, he participated in the establishment of an oceanographic program as well as Project 21, which developed surveillance techniques and technology to locate foreign submarines in the Gulf. His interest in oceanography and the other sciences led him to Boston in 1957 where he worked for the Smithsonian at the inception of the space race and was sent around the world to arrange for a satellite tracking program for the United States. He co-authored a book, Sky Rangers, for young students about the quest for space exploration. Ken then moved back to La Jolla to work for the Scripts Oceanographic Institute before moving with his family to the Washington, DC area in 1962, where he worked for Texas Instruments, Teledyne, and Ensco; for one year he was the Director of the Marine Resource Centers on the coast of North Carolina, before he accepted a position with Wetland Resources at Louisiana State University as Director of Special Projects. Ken retired from LSU in 1987.Ken was a world traveler, loved adventure, unusual locales and experiences, and he was a long-time member of the Explorers Club and the Circumnavigators Club. From his early youth until the age of 80, Ken was an avid tennis player; his favorite courts were at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. He was a ranked player during his college years in the Southwest. For many years he and his family played doubles every Sunday morning. His interest in the game never faded and he eagerly watched tournament play until shortly before his final illness. Ken moved to the Seattle area in 2001 with his wife, Patricia Kenney Drummond, who survives him. He is also survived by his children from his former marriage, daughter, Laurie Lynn Drummond of Eugene, Oregon, sons Finlay Bruce Drummond of Tucson, Arizona, and Carter Holland Drummond of Salt Lake City, Utah, and by his stepdaughter, Tracy Burgess and son-in-law, Christopher Burgess. Ken has three grandchildren, Chase Drummond, age 12, Cole Drummond, age 10 and Jack Burgess, age 13.Ken Drummond will be remembered by his family and friends as a true gift to this planet that we occupy. He will be sorely missed.Services will be private at a future date followed by burial at sea. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society of Seattle, Washington at www.leukemia.org.