Kenneth Robert Magdiel
Kenneth Robert Magdiel came into this world on November 9, 1965 in Dearborn Michigan and he left it on April 18, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah due to complications from his 43-year struggle against diabetes.
When Ken was two years old, the family moved to Boise, Idaho where he spent his childhood and teenage years. He attended Meridian High School where he found an interest in journalism and worked for the school newspaper. He graduated from MHS in 1984 and from there went to BYU where he graduated with a major in History and a minor in Political Science. While attending BYU he met and married his first wife, Rachael Ingraham, in April of 1987. Ken and Rachael had a daughter, Kayleigh, in 1989 and a son, Kevin, in 1992. The marriage later ended. In 1995 he fell in love with Stephanie (Olsen) Northam, whom he met while they both worked for Albertson’s. They moved in together in 1995 and later married in August of 2010. Ken and Stephanie spent many years enjoying his and her Harleys and took several trips to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota with family and friends. Ken loved to travel to New York and was very passionate about the history of his family and their migration to America, through Ellis Island. Ken was an avid sports fan: he and Stephanie were regulars at professional hockey and soccer games. His love for the Edmonton Oilers hockey team was beyond measure and dreamed of one day watching his beloved Oilers play a home game, in Edmonton, AB, Canada. One of Ken’s favorite motto’s “Once an Oiler, always an Oiler” is emblazoned throughout his home, which he often referred to as Oil Country. He had a brilliant mind with a gift for learning and recalling facts and statistics. Ken loved history and politics and in 2016 he was elected as a Utah State Democratic Delegate and re-elected in 2018 to another 2-year term. Ken was very active politically and was a proud member of the SLCO Caucus for People w/Disabilities.
Ken was quick witted and loved a good joke. He had an amazing sense of humor who lovingly gave his wife several nicknames, which he used more often than her given name; his favorite names for her are ‘Fella’, ‘Fish’, and ‘Linda’. Ken loved to dress in the finest attire: a sports t-shirt from his ‘shirt room’. When he would leave the house, he would get fancy and wear a ball cap for the same team as the shirt he was wearing. He was always sure to point out, to his wife, that he was wearing his “Garanimals”.
Ken was very proud of his children and loved being a grandpa. He was a kind, compassionate uncle to his niece, Kodee, with whom he had a very special friendship. Ken had a strong bond with his longtime friend, Josh Sturgill, who often accompanied Ken and Steph on trips to California, to watch the Edmonton Oilers kick the pants off the L.A. Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Ken had a big heart and a big mind; he will be dearly missed.
Ken is survived by his wife Stephanie, children: Kayleigh Magdiel, Kevin Magdiel, (daughters from Stephanie’s previous marriage) Charly Luna, Natasha (Billie) Olsen, grandchildren: Morgen, Nemo, Amilia and Elsebeth, his mother: Karen Carabine, his father, mother-in-law: Mary Olsen, siblings: Dave Magdiel and Niquel Magdiel Thurber, multiple brothers/sisters in-law, and 19 nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his faithful service dog, Murphy and loving pets Baxter and Layla. Ken is proceeded in death by his beloved Uncle Jeff Magdiel, his father-in-law Brent Olsen, and his grandson Luzario Aguirre.
A Celebration of Life will be held April 27, 2019 at 9:00 am at Kramer Family Funeral Home, 2500 S Decker Lake Blvd, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Ken’s name to The American Diabetes Association or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)