Kenneth "Ken" Robert Thorsen, 96, of Cumberland, passed away on Saturday, April 12, 2025, peacefully in his home surrounded by his loved ones. He was the husband of the late Rosalie "Lee" (Shields) Thorsen, to whom he was married for 60 years. Born in Bellingham, Washington, he was the son of the late Theodore "Ted" and Georgia (Shephardson) Thorsen.

A devoted husband, beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather, an army veteran and a man of deep faith, Ken is best remembered as the skipper of his sailboat Thora, named after his Norwegian grandmother. Even at 93 years old, Ken could be found "down at the boat," scaling ladders, wielding power tools, prepping for racing and sharing a laugh on the deck. Sailing started out as a retirement hobby and soon became a source of joy as he joined the West Bay Yacht Club and then the East Greenwich Yacht Club racing series. But as much as Ken enjoyed racing competitively, he cherished his time spent on the water, with family, the most. As he shared his love of sailing with family, he also enlisted them to crew and care for the boat.

The second-born of four children, Ken regularly reunited with his siblings, Eunice Fackler Bennett (deceased), Georgia Hunt and Theodore "Butch" Thorsen, and more than twenty cousins in Washington at the annual Thorsen family Sildbol Party. The reunion featured a potluck feast to celebrate their Norwegian heritage and where pickled herring potato balls - and a dry sense of humor - were the main course. In his later years, he reminisced fondly of growing up in the Pacific Northwest picking wild rhubarb out of the roadside ditch on his walks to school, golfing during school in his senior year, and being roasted by his beefier uncles to put rocks in his pockets so he wouldn't blow away. There were many stories of his first job at age ten as a pharmacy delivery boy cycling up and down the steep Bellingham hills to deliver medicines in glass bottles.

An uninvited opportunity struck when he was sixteen. It was 1944, and Ken won a scholarship to Yale University. He moved 3,000 miles away from home as the first in his family to attend college. After two years at school, he joined the army and became a paratrooper in the Company B 1st Battalion of the 187th Glider Infantry regiment, despite his fear of heights, (which would last throughout his life). He shipped out to Sapporo, Japan, joining the Occupied Forces shortly after the end of WWII. There he served two years with a deployment at Camp Crawford where he took part in military training exercises as a scout. He earned the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal - Japan, before returning home to finish his degree.

It was during his junior year of college that he met his future wife, Lee. After graduating from college, they married and began a 60-year union filled with faith and commitment, before her passing in 2013. Together, Ken and Lee had four children. The family moved three times during his 34-year tenure with General Electric. GE moved him one last time, in 1970, to the Boston area where he managed GE's northeast product service division. The family settled in Cumberland, RI in a home built on a wooded lot which he loved to tend. He also loved carpentry and treating his grandkids to Klondike bars.

Ken retired at the age of 57 and as a grandparent, he was a proud supporter at his grandchildren's sports events, concerts, recitals, and graduations. Getting a twinkle-eyed smile and shoulder squeeze from Grandpa was a treasured moment for each of his grand, and great-grandchildren.

Ken was private, stoic, and reserved; he loved telling stories about his past for those moments when he felt at ease. This was usually at home in his leather recliner or during a conversation in the car on his drive to East Greenwich to sail. Usually during these times, one heard music from the 40's in the background.

Ken is survived by his children; Ann Kathleen "Kathy" Thorsen of Cumberland, Amy Thorsen and her husband, Sudip "Sid" Jhaveri, of Seattle, WA; John B. Thorsen and his wife, Nancy, of Bedford, MA; James "Jim" Thorsen and his wife, Cindy, of Cumberland. He is also survived by his nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to a Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM in Saint Joseph Church, 1303 Mendon Road, Cumberland. Burial with military honors will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Cumberland. Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, April 15th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM in the O'Neill Funeral Home, 3102 Mendon Road, Cumberland.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Joseph Church, 1303 Mendon Rd., Cumberland RI 02864, would be greatly appreciated.