Ken Dicke

Kenneth Leroy Dicke, age 94, of Fort Collins, Colorado, passed away on September 24, 2026, at the home of his daughter and son-in-law Randy and Lori Haskett.

Ken was born to August Dicke and Helena Lange in Topeka, KS, on January 29, 1932. During his early years, his parents both passed, so he was raised by his grandparents. Upon their deaths, he and his sister, Genevieve Dicke, lived on their own while going to high school. At nineteen years old, he enlisted in the United States Navy. From October 1951 to 1955 he was assigned to the Naval Communication Station in San Diego, CA, the Receiving Station in Washington, D.C., the Navy Radio Station in Cheltenham, MD, and the U.S. Naval Communication Facility in Yokosuka, Japan. During this time in the Navy and during the Korean War, he was a Radioman and tracked adversary nations' troop and ship movements. He later became a reservist in the Navy until 1959. He was honorably discharged with a Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal, and a United Nations Service Medal. Ken graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He and his family moved to Buena Park, California, for his employment with North American Aviation. He worked on a team for the Apollo/Saturn Program that designed the hardware that would carry three men to the moon and back. Then, Ken and his family moved to Nebraska where he continued his engineering career with Reach Electronics and Ogallala Electronics Manufacturing.

Ken married Mary Elizabeth Schlecht on May 30, 1957. From this union they were blessed with four children, son Alan Dicke of Fort Collins, CO, and grandsons Avery Dicke of Fort Collins, CO and Aidan Dicke (Sasha) of San Diego, CA; daughter Lori Haskett (Randy) of Fort Collins, CO, with granddaughter Lindsey Haskett Page (Austin) and great-grandchildren Maverick and Eleanor Page of Loveland, CO, and grandson Tyler Haskett (Tristyn) of LaVergne, TN; son Jim Dicke (Jan) of Sidney, NE with grandson Austin Dicke (Julie) and great-grandchildren Remington and Kairi Dicke of Fort Collins, CO; and son Rich Dicke (Traci) of Longmont, CO with granddaughter Makayla Dicke (fiancé Zac) of North Platte, NE, and grandson Ryan Dicke of Longmont, CO. Ken and Mary divorced in March of 1982 and he married Florendia "Linda" Hampton on April 12, 1986. From this union, Ken was blessed with stepchildren Larry Hampton (Robin) of Chandler, AZ, Tom Hampton of Ogallala, NE, Brenda Hampton (Kelly) of Hays, KS, and Rob Hampton (Nicole) with daughter Ellie of North Platte, NE. They enjoyed the warm climate in Mission, TX along with cervezas, margaritas, meeting new friends, dancing, golfing, Husker Football parties, dominoes, frequent trips across the border to Mexico, and many other events and activities. In 2014, they moved back to Nebraska to be closer to their families.

After the death of his wife, Linda, in 2020, his family helped him move to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he lived at Good Samaritan Village. He enjoyed daily drives around Horsetooth Reservoir and making sure he had ice cream in his freezer and sangria in the refrigerator. After a fall and hip surgery, he moved to his daughter's home, where he had a comfy chair and a large window to monitor the cul-de-sac. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Prairie Hills Funeral Home chapel in Ogallala. Inurnment will be in the Ogallala Cemetery.

A memorial has been established in Ken's memory for later designation. Condolences may be shared at prairiehillsfuneralhome.com, where the service will be streamed live.

Prairie Hills Funeral Home of Ogallala is in charge of arrangements.