The Lake business and boating community was struck with the news of the sudden passing of Ken Lawler, on Monday, Oct. 26.
Lawler died after experiencing a medical event while traveling to the Lake area, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation.
Lawler was the creator of the LOZ App and a member of the Shootout Board.
The Shootout posted the following on their Facebook page, Tuesday...
The old adage holds true: We truly don’t know what we have ‘til it’s gone, as we announce the unexpected passing of Shootout Board member and beacon of community generosity, Ken Lawler. Many know Ken through his creation of the LOZ App, but those fortunate enough to know him personally and behind the scenes also knew he was, furthermore, a steadfast force for good.
“Most people had no idea how much he did. He was a very selfless person. It wasn’t about him; it was always about the community,” said Mark Maasen, President of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. “Everything he did was about other people, not about him being credited for it or being the ‘big man’ in the room. It was about what he could do to help and how he could make things better.
“It will not only be a tremendous loss for the Shootout, but for our whole community. It’s still very raw, but on behalf of the entire board, we would just like to thank him for his years of selflessness, guidance, insight, and foresight to do all of the cool stuff that he did that helped us get to where we are today, from online registration to seeing things in real time, and all of the things he was still working on. It will just be a tremendous loss to us all.”
In line with Mark’s sentiments, my last text message to Ken was about next year’s races, hoping to create a streamlined platform for the Water Patrol and volunteers, like me, to communicate more effectively. Our shared goal was to encourage increased safety efforts each year and make each year better than the last, no matter how great the last year was.
His immediate response?
“I love it!!”
“I have known Ken for several years, and he immediately took to what we do at Wonderland Camp because his son, Blake, had gone there, and one of his counselors had become a caregiver for Blake for a few years,” said Mike Clayton, Director of Fund Development and Communications for Wonderland Camp for the past eight years. “Because of that, he had a great bond with the camp, and we had a great bond with him.
“I always admired all of the things he did, not only in the business world with his expertise, but also how he cared about nonprofits. What he did for Wonderland showed the caring, compassion, and empathy that he had for us, for people with disabilities, and for what we do. I will always honor him for that. He is irreplaceable.”
You see, it wasn’t about the pretense with Ken. He was a man of deep relationships. He did not live by bells and whistles but rather, by the quiet conviction that the greatest measure of a man’s worth is not what he accomplishes for himself, but what he does for others.
“Ken was, first of all, just a really good person,” Sheree Keely, Director of the CADV, said sadly amidst the demands of preparing for their annual fundraiser tomorrow, but she still took the time to talk with me. “When he spoke to people, you could tell that he genuinely cared about who they were. He would ask me how I was doing, not just about the CADV. He truly cared about people. He did a podcast with us because he genuinely wanted to tell our story. He cared about all of the causes here at the Lake and truly had a heart for the vulnerable. He understood them.
“The world and our community are losing an angel. Ken truly cared for and advocated for others. I don't think there was a mean thought in that man's head. Just pure compassion.”
Please take a quiet moment to revel in how unusual that is in today’s fast-paced society. To take the time not to serve ourselves, but rather others, endlessly? In a world where the American dream is always about the next conquest, maybe Ken realized that, in the end, our relationships matter most. That all we have is ultimately what we give.
Ken didn't plan on passing away yet; this much is clear. He was health-driven, forward-focused, free-loving, and lived for the moment. I’m not entirely convinced that man ever slept. He kept stacks of gift cards in his vehicle for the next silent auction. He wove himself into any community he joined—whether St. Louis, Arizona, or the Lake—and somehow, someway, he always made it better.
He lived a life larger than this small tribute, and I believe he would want you to use these words spoken about him today as encouragement to live boldly and give endlessly. Laugh, forgive, forget, and never stop seeing the beauty in the sometimes-broken world around you.
In darkness, be a light. In loss, give.
“He just had a way of making everyone he spoke with feel so special, and he remembered everything you’d told him,” said Allyson Cline, a real estate agent and broker at ReeceNichols. “He was such a problem solver. If you mentioned something, his wheels were already turning. I would ask him questions that weren’t even business-related. He was like a father figure to me. I feel like everyone went to him because he already knew how to do whatever it was. He was smart, witty, and someone you could always count on. He was the most reliable person I know. He was also hilarious.”
“I was at the office one day, and he had an office in my office that was his pop-in place. I was super busy and a little short with him, and he was trying to be funny. He said, ‘You’re hangry!’ Ever since then, he kept a little drawer in my office stocked with snacks.”
There are times in life when the world around you demands to be heard, and this feels like one of those moments. Tomorrow is not promised, nor is today. We exist in a fragile balance of happenstance and fate, and in this balance, we oftentimes focus on keeping our own feet stable instead of steadying the ones beside us.
On planes, they tell us to put our masks on first before helping others, but I’m not sure Ken would have done that. I think he would’ve put someone else’s mask on first, and then his own.
“The first time I met Ken was on a Zoom call when we were trying to move on from the antiquated Shootout registration program,” said Diana Dorhauer, Secretary of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. “He and his team brought it up to the highest level, to where we literally do everything for the whole show through what he created. He had the knowledge and willingness to make changes and get things the way we needed and wanted them. I have never worked with someone as brilliant as him. He was just an amazing person.
“The big joke was that I still use paper and that he was going to convert me. He joked that I had a Trapper Keeper in high school. You know, I’m the secretary, and I would slowly open the Velcro and open it up while taking notes just to grind his gears. He wanted to have inspectors on the docks with iPads, classifying boats in real time, and I was like, ‘No, I am the last line of defense!’ And he would just laugh.
“We were discussing at a meeting once where I would be located for registration, and while looking at an aerial view, Ken looked at me and said, ‘Is that where you really want to be?’ He spoke up for me when I didn’t, or wouldn’t, speak for myself.”
In honor of Ken and his legacy, please consider supporting his non-profit organization, https://blakes-buddies.com/
