Memorial helps campus honor Ken Strong

Kenneth P. Strong lived fully, loved greatly, taught passionately, performed powerfully and left his audience applauding loudly and wanting more of his incredible spirit.

Strong, 52, died on Tuesday, Jan. 12, after a long battle with cancer. He was a professor in the department of dramatic art and a member of PlayMakers Repertory Company.

A memorial was held at 1 p.m. Monday in the Paul Green Theatre to celebrate his life.

The Rev. Chuck Bugg began the ceremony, speaking of how Strong inspired him and how he was someone who loved life.

He finished the invocation by saying, “What matters most is the content of our character.”

As friends and family shared memories of Strong, they showed pictures of his life on a screen in the theater, accompanied by the song “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green.

Through those tales and tributes, Strong’s character rang loud and true.

“When I think of Ken, I think of love and joy and laughter,” said Ray Dooley, a fellow professor in the dramatic art department and member of PlayMakers.

McKay Coble, chairwoman of the dramatic art department and member of PlayMakers, shared a memory of a picture Strong had sent her while on vacation.

In the picture he lay on a float, splashing around in the pool. He added a note that read, “Weather is here; wish you were beautiful.”

Even though Strong liked to make others laugh, he was also dedicated to his work. While battling cancer, Strong still performed in plays and taught classes.

His wife, Kee Strong, spoke of his desire for challenges.

She said he was always looking to climb the highest mountain. Determined, he would passionately hike to the top of a mountain, and once there, would turn to her and say, “I think there is a higher one.”

Some speakers at the memorial read letters or played recordings from Strong’s family.

“If I have to walk across the universe, I will find you again,” Kee Strong said, in a recorded message.

Just as people started crying during moving statements about Strong’s character, they were soon laughing at stories of him joking around and brightening others’ days.

Teaching was another passion of Strong’s, and his students remember him most as the enthusiastic professor who made drama come alive in class.

“He loved every one of his students, and he ended his class by saying ‘I love you,’” Coble said.

One of Strong’s traditions in his lectures was to blast the song “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads and make his students stand up and do crazy arm motions.

In remembrance, the memorial ended with all of Strong’s friends and family joyfully repeating the ritual.

 “In whatever years Ken had, Ken taught you and so many other people what really mattered in life,” Bugg said.



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.