11/08/2021
Sad News.
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I report that the originator and primary administrator of this site--Kenneth Mark Lubowich--passed away from an aggressive form of brain cancer that he'd been valiantly dealing with since March of 2018.
In addition to being the primary administrator of this page, Ken was also the secondary legacy holder of the taiji form that Gabriel Chin taught until he passed in 2005.
Ken was so many things to so many people it's impossible for me to summarize them in a few short paragraphs. For me, Ken was my taiji brother as well as the surrogate brother I never had. We were both the original taiji sons, if not the biological sons, of Gabriel Chin.
Even though I intellectually knew Ken was going to pass this mortal coil because of the cancer, emotionally I was in a state of shock and denial for a while when it actually occurred. Ken was one of those people most people and I assumed would forever be around, he was that kind of a person. I assumed that Ken and I would be brainstorming ideas and sharing incongruous experiences forever. Our relationship was such that we could be apart and incommunicado for a couple of months, yet upon reestablishing contact with each other, feel like we were continuing the conversation we'd been having as if it were only five minutes ago.
The best thing I can do as the remaining and now, the only administrator of this page is to reproduce Ken's obituary, written by his sons.
*Obituary*
Kenneth Mark Lubowich, 71, tapped out of the ring for the last time on November 4, 2021 at his home in Skokie, Illinois.
Son of Martin and Shirley, husband to Li Hwa, father to Corey, James, and Kevin, and brother to Donald and Renée. He was known to many as Ken, Uncle Ken, Kenny, Lu Bu Wei, “Hey You!,” and to a select few “Mr. Hey You!”
Ken was a wearer of many hats throughout his life like Beanie, Bucket, and Baseball, as well as Acupuncturist, World Traveller, Teacher, Photographer, Wrestling Coach, Medical Textbook Model, Computer Guy, Tour Leader, Adoption Consultant, Software Designer, and Last Minute Conrad Birdie Replacement in the 1969 Ridotto Players production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” He was also a champion wrestler, tying for first at State his senior year of high school, though he should’ve won. (Fifty years later, and that was still a bad call, ref!)
Throughout his adult life, Ken could barely go anywhere without taking unexpected detours and meeting interesting people (to the dismay of anyone hoping to keep him on schedule). But inevitably, those people became lifelong friends, drawn to his offbeat charm, generous spirit, and infectious enthusiasm.
Ken was ever the optimist, always finding ways to take lemons and turn them into gold. After a robbery cleared out everything in his apartment, he was left with one coat and one haunting question: how ugly was the coat that it wasn’t even worth stealing? With no belongings and a pocket full of insurance money, Ken was ready to travel the world: everywhere from jungles of Malaysia to the streets of Delhi. But he would have to go all the way to Taiwan to meet his beloved wife-to-be, Li Hwa, through their Tai Chi teachers. When Ken proposed, he splurged to make an international phone call to share the good news with his mother. But Shirley was very confused when she asked to speak to Li Hwa and was informed it might be difficult with the language barrier. “Wait. YOU SPEAK CHINESE??” Which was met with an exasperated, “YES!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK I’VE BEEN DOING HERE ALL THIS TIME?!”
After moving with Li Hwa back to Chicago, they raised three sons that were his greatest source of pride (which is incredibly embarrassing for them to write, but unfortunately everyone knows it’s true). Ken was always their #1 cheerleader whether it was at a soccer game, a school play, or a wrestling match and he never passed up the opportunity to share their latest success to anyone who would listen.
In 2018 after a brain cancer diagnosis, Ken was far too stubborn to let the subsequent surgery and treatments dictate what he was going to do. In fact, whenever Ken was asked how he was, he would demonstrate by dropping to the floor for pushups. Even up until the end, Ken continued to brag about his sons, tell inappropriate jokes, and offer his help to all of his friends with anything and everything as if they were family. Because to him, they all were.
Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822. To attend the funeral livestream on Monday, November 8, 2021, please visit our www.cjfinfo.com. If you’d like to donate to a cancer charity in his memory, he would’ve liked that. Or to Ezra-Habonim, the Niles Township Jewish Congregation. Or if you want to do something else that’s a little unconventional, unusual, or fun, he would’ve liked that too.
