Former Tinley Park Mayor Ken Fulton Dies at 86

Kenneth J. Fulton, who from 1965 to 1969 served as Mayor of Tinley Park, died Thursday at the age of 86.

In addition to his tenure as mayor, Fulton served as Village Trustee from 1961 to 1965, and again from 1971 to 1999. He also served as Trustee of Bremen Township in the early 1960s and in the Army during the Korean War. Fulton also was a member of the Tinley Park Veterans Commission for more than a decade and “continued to serve with honor and compassion until the time of his death,” Tinley Park Mayor Edward J. Zabrocki said.

Fulton’s time as mayor marked a period of great transition for Tinley Park, Zabrocki said.

“Ken dedicated more than 50 years to public service,” Zabrocki said. “He was known to all of us as a quiet thinker with a conservative approach to finance. He has earned a permanent place of respect in the history of the community.”

Fulton was a graduate of Central Junior High School in Tinley Park and Thornton Township High School in Harvey. After high school he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Fulton was the last direct descendant of one of the original founding families that settled the area in 1844. The Fulton family came to the United States from Ireland and was at one time one of the largest land holders in all of Bremen Township.

“Ken Fulton loved Tinley Park,” Village Clerk Patrick E. Rea said. “Throughout his entire life, he represented his historic family with distinction. He also was one of the early leaders in modern television, working as a respected senior electrical engineer for Motorola during the transition period from black-and-white to color television. His long years of public service are matched by the long years of his family in Tinley Park, from its founding in the 1840s until today.”

Fulton’s wife, Dorothy Young, preceded him in death.

Fulton’s wake will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at Heartland Memorial Center, 7151 W. 183rd St., Tinley Park. His funeral will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at Zion Lutheran Church, 17100 S. 69th Ave., Tinley Park.