Kenneth Mead (Ken for short), was born in 1939 and sadly passed away 14 years ago due to a mesothelioma diagnosis. As a teenager, Ken was exposed to asbestos whilst working in a lot of old buildings. Ken had no idea he was working amongst the deadly "asbestos". Ken would never have known to check the buildings to see if asbestos was present and had no idea that his health and life would be cruelly cut short.
Ken had no idea he was in danger and the asbestos fibres in his lungs laid dormant for 50 years. Ken did not present any severe symptoms apart from, one day he went to the doctors for extreme back ache. After several tests, Unfortunately, he was found to have later stages of Mesothelioma in his lungs. Ken was diagnosed in 2009 and heartbreakingly passed away in 2010,only a year later.
Granddaughter Laurel said "It really was all out of the blue and he didn’t know what he had until it was too late"
Ken was a family man and married Diane in 1966 at Sandridge Church near St Albans. They met through mutual friends and had a happy marriage, however they later seperated. Ken was a father to 1 daughter, 2 twin sons and a grandfather to 8 grandchildren. He had a love of history and enjoyed many hobbies, one being long bow archery. and making sculptures out of wood, and was very skilled in this. To this day, family members have the wooden sculptures as decorations around the house. Ken had a big personality with a lot of friends and spent his later parts of life in Quebec, Canada.
It has been 14 years since the sad passing of Ken but he is still very much in the hearts and minds of his family members and he is missed everyday dearly. It is important to the family that people are aware of the dangers of asbestos exposure and how deadly it can be.
His granddaughter, Laurel will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October 2024 to raise awareness of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma diagnosis. She has set up a fundraising page in memory of her beloved grandad, Ken.
If you have been diagnosis with an asbestos related disease please contact support@lasag.org.uk and one of our Client Support Advisors will be able to offer you support and advice.