Kenneth Leslie Willinger, 68

Kenneth Leslie Willinger, 68, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010, in Sagle, Idaho.

A memorial gathering will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, at Luther Park in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Ken was born on Nov. 2, 1942, in Brooklyn, N.Y., a son of Julius and Lillian (Drezner) Willinger. He grew up and attended schools in Long Island, and graduated from Herricks High School where he was a basketball star. He went on to play basketball at Colby College in Maine, where he received all-state honors. He was also a member of the honorary academic fraternity Phi Beta Kappa. Ken attended graduate school in clinical psychology at University of Cali-fornia-Berkley from 1964-1969.

Ken married Wanita Magnelli on Aug. 10, 1969, in Berkley, Calif. The couple moved to Hawaii, where Ken completed his extensive career in psychology. He worked for the State Department of Health in Mental Health Services before transferring to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, where he served as the states primary technical advisor for alcohol and drug abuse.

Ken consulted with the U.S. Navy Alcohol Assessment Program and with the Sand Island Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program. He served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Hawaii teaching for the Department of Counseling Psychology and for the Department of Anthropology. He also taught at Leeward Community College in Hawaii. All of this was done while maintaining his private clinical psychology practice.

After retiring, Ken and Wanita moved to Sandpoint in 2003. Ken volunteered as a grief counselor for Bonner Community Hospice and enjoyed learning to sculpt and paint at North Idaho College.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Wanita Willinger of Sagle; his mother, Lillian Willinger of Sandpoint; a sister, Harriet Tainsky of New Jersey; and four cats, Gus, Willie, Homer, and Maggie. He is loved dearly by his wife and his mother, thought of fondly by his friends, and respected by his colleagues.

He was preceded in death by his father, Julius Willinger.

Memorial donations may be made to Bonner Community Hospice, P.O. Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Ken’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign his guest book.