Kenneth Tandecki

Nov 4, 1950 -

Jun 14, 2023

It is with great sadness that the family of Kenneth R. Tandecki announce his passing on June 14, 2023, in Anchorage, Alaska, due to a pulmonary embolism.

Ken was born on Nov. 4, 1950, and was the eldest child of three children of Mary and Bernard Tandecki. When Ken was 12, his family moved from Santa Clara, Calif., to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he attended middle school and graduated from Lathrop High School. In 1973, he and the family moved to Anchorage, where he lived for most of his life. He moved to Wasilla, Alaska, as he neared retirement and resided there until his death at age 72.

From an early age, when his father bought him a model of a V-8 engine, Ken loved to take apart things and put them back together. When he was 13, he was helping his dad put new house wiring in the family's log cabin in Fairbanks. It seemed a natural fit that he became an electrical apprentice at age 18. Ken worked his way up to journeyman electrician, having wired many of the buildings in Anchorage during its boom years. He was a proud member of IBEW Local 1547 and retired from doing electrical work to concentrate on his passion projects, restoring old cars, including a 1965 Dodge Coronet just like the one the family once owned but with 700 hp.

Although Ken was a "jack-of-all-trades" and knew how to do "just about everything," his passion was cars. He had just finished building his dream three-car garage with a TV, audio system and a lift that would allow him to continue working on cars as he aged. He also loved mud bogging and won many races with his popular, Nitrous injected, 1964 Jeep CJ5. He loved staying busy in retirement and was always working to improve his house and yard.

Kenneth is survived by his sons, Greg (Sarah) Tandecki of San Tan Valley, Ariz., and Kristopher Tandecki of Anchorage; and sisters, Colleen Wehrle of Sun City, Ariz., and Judy Martin (Dennis) of Anchorage; grandsons, Jaxsen and Kenneth Jr.; granddaughter, Trinity Tandecki; great-grandson, Thoren; and his beloved German Shepherd, Libby.

A celebration of life will be planned for later in summer 2023.