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09/07/2023 02:13 PMKenneth Kilpatrick “Ken” Field, 71, of Guilford, passed away on Aug. 25. He is survived by elder brother William Field; and sisters, Catherine Field and Reedie Field King; as well as nieces, Stephanie Thrower, Elizabeth Jones, and Eliza Gercke; nephews: Jameson Gay, William King, Samuel King, and Robert King; and numerous honorary family members.
A memorial service will be held in his honor at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 135 Leetes Island Road in Guilford.
He was the son of Frances Kilpatrick and William Warner Field. Ken was born in New York City. He attended St. Bernard School, the Brooks School, Class of 1970, and later graduated from Cornell University, Class of 1974, where he majored in geology. Ken met architect Louis Mackall in 1976, as his design firm was expanding to design and build. The two formed a deep friendship, out of which was born Breakfast Woodworks and 47 years of design and manufacturing partnerships.
Ken was an artist, his medium: wood. He was a builder, a maker of things functional and beautiful. His work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Sikh temple, residences for Nancy Friday, John Denver, the Rothschilds, and in fabrications for Allan Greenburg. While deeply appreciative of natural beauty in the world around him, Ken loved the intersection of form and function. He eschewed the extraneous in work and life. He owned one pair of shoes at a time and saw no reason to repair holes in his sweaters until they interfered with his warmth. A deeply generous person, Ken took numerous trips to Haiti to lend his skills to the construction of homes. For more than a decade, Ken maintained a relationship with the students of the Yale School of Architecture, offering an internship as well as lending his resources and skills to The Vlock Building Project, a program that seeks to aid unhoused members of the New Haven community.
Ken lived life for the surprise of a new conversation, the challenge of solving a new problem, and he loved using his talents to help people. He approached every person he met with an openness to learn from them, and he made the world a better place. Shoreline Cremation has been entrusted with Ken’s services. Please visit www.shorelinecremation.com to sign his guestbook.