Obituary: Kenneth Kilpatrick Field, 71, of Guilford

Obituary courtesy of Shoreline Cremation:

Kenneth Kilpatrick Field, 71, of Guilford CT, passed away on the 25th of August.

He is survived by elder brother William Field, and sisters Catherine Field and Reedie Field King, as well as nieces Stephanie Thrower, Elizabeth Jones, Eliza Gercke, nephews Jameson Gay, William King, Samuel King, Robert King and numerous honorary family members. A memorial service was held in his honor September 10.

The son of Frances Kilpatrick and William Warner Field, Ken was born in New York City, attending St.Bernard’s School, the Brooks School (‘70) and later graduating from Cornell University (‘74) 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 which 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 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.