Kenneth T. Cichowicz, "Ken" left us on August 4, 2026, passing in his sleep two years after the loss of his beloved wife, Janet. He is survived by his son, Casey, grandson, Liam and sisters, Joan and Judy. His personal enthusiasms focused on backpacking, motorcycles and reading of literature. The last book on his nightstand was Emile Zola’s novel, The Joy of Life. He generously shared his strength, skill and equipment with family and friends, often serving as “the heavy load bearer” on trips in Germany, Austria, Wind River Mountain Range (Wyoming), Grand Canyon, Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. Though his favored winter tent camping was in Shenandoah National Park, he returned to the Moab, Utah area for over 17 years to meet up with friends/family and act as tour guide to its many and varied scenic places.

Many of us remember when he went missing on a solo trip in the Austrian Dachstein. He fell in late October, surviving 19 days hunkered down in his tent before being rescued in early November. Because of his many broken bones, he was carried on a stretcher suspended from a helicopter. The owner of the guest house where Janet was housed was heard to say that when he saw the helicopter return he thought sadly that it carried another deceased mountaineer. But Ken healed and lived to hike another day and then some. Peter Gruber penned the story in Das Tagebuch des Kenneth Thomas Cichowicz. Two movies were made to focus on his survival story.

He got his first motorcycle at 18, never losing his love of the open road including one long road trip to the Guatemala border. On a lovely Spring day this year, he rode his last bike, a 2003 Harley Davidson V-Rod.

A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Ken served in the US Army in Vietnam. 

The family asked that donations in his memory be made to The Nature Conservancy.   www.preserve.nature.org  or  The National Parks Foundation. www.NPFoundation.org

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