Kenneth J Modenbach

Kenneth Jeffrey Modenbach was born on July 3, 1955, in Cleveland (Garfield Heights), Ohio, and passed on to his next, big adventure on August 20, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. Ken loved traveling, and his grieving family is comforted in knowing that his spirit is now flying freely. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family, after living courageously with cancer for 14 years. He lived long beyond his original prognosis, which is a testament to his strong desire to spend each day doing things he loved with the people he loved. 

After living in Colorado for 37 years, Ken had recently retired and moved to Dunedin, Florida, and was so happy to never have to see another snowflake. Ken was an explorer at heart and especially loved trips that showed him different ways of life—like the trip he took with his beloved, Patricia, to participate in India’s Holi festival. As much as Ken loved going overseas, he also enjoyed seeing the U.S. and loved to drive—probably because he always owned a fun, fast sportscar.

Ken had a sharp and logical mind and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University in 1979. He was extremely well informed, and he carefully researched topics he was interested in, like history and economics. He often had a contrarian point of view, but his opinions were always grounded in facts. Every conversation with Ken was an opportunity to learn something interesting and oftentimes unexpected. Ken was insatiably curious and always showed true interest in the opinions and pursuits of whomever he was speaking with. 

Ken had a fondness for parrots and dogs. While he never got to own a parrot, he had many dogs—Buffy, Teddy, Libby, Snowflake, Barkley, Vivian and Penny—all small, fluffy and shades of cream and white. No doubt, they were all waiting for him with tails wagging at the Rainbow Bridge.

Ken’s work revolved around real estate, and he lived in many states over the course of his career—Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Colorado. He worked for companies including Lawson’s and Wendy’s, where he scouted good locations for new stores, and then finished his career as a residential real estate appraiser, working for Countrywide, Core Logic Technologies and Bank of America.

Although not related by blood, Ken stepped into the role of father to his daughters, Lisa and Debbie, when they were 10 and 5 years old, respectively, and they were an integral part of each others lives. Ken was quick to lend a hand and teach them how to do “fatherly” things, like change the oil in their car, or install landscape lighting, or repair broken sprinkler heads. After the death of Ken’s wife (Lisa and Debbie’s mother), the three became even closer and established a tradition of weekly Sunday family dinners. Lisa and Debbie will treasure those times together.

His family will miss him dearly. Ken is survived by his daughters, Lisa Marie Cirincione, of Aurora, Colorado, and Debra Lynn (Cirincione) Vanzant (Steven), of Aurora, Colorado; granddaughters, Kaylin Marie Vanzant and Abigail Jayne Vanzant, of Aurora, Colorado; his significant other, Patricia Rosenthal, of Denver, Colorado; and brother, Joseph Modenbach, of Cleveland, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his wife of 31 years, Terry Lynn Modenbach (née Emig); parents, Josephine Modenbach (née Kocin) and Arnold Modenbach; and sister, Marian Lia (née Modenbach).

Celebration of life services for Ken will be announced at a later date and will be held at J.S. Parker Cemetery, 10375 S. Parker Road, Parker, CO 80134. If you are interested in attending, please add a comment below with your email and you will be notified about the service date and time.

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