Kenneth Hach

KENNETH HACH

Alta

Kenneth R. Hach, 77, of Alta, Iowa, died on Monday, April 12, 2021, at his home in Alta.

Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at the Summit Evangelical Free Church in Alta. Visitation will take place prior to the service from 1 to 3 p.m. at the church. Masks are optional for guests in attendance. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Ken Hach Memorial Fund in care of the Hach Building at 800 Oneida St. Suite C, Storm Lake, IA 50588. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta is in charge of the arrangements.

April 22, 1943, God put his new creation – Kenneth Robert Hach – into the care of Robert William Hach and Winifred Erbe Hach. A gifted and talented member of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, school system, as well as a multi-talented athlete. He loved baseball, football, fishing, water skiing, and as a speed skater, he participated in the US Olympic tryouts. He graduated from Coe College with a business degree in 1965 and became the 3rd generation in The Hach Company – a wholesale paper and chemical company. He was involved with the Cedar Rapids Jaycees but besides sports, Ken's favorite "hobby" was as a deputy with Linn County Sheriff's Department.

In 1969, Ken married Bonnie Euler, and they continued to live in Cedar Rapids spending weekends with their family in their cabin on the Wapsipinicon River, until they decided to move to Clayton County where Ken's entrepreneurship blossomed. He pioneered alternative wind energy development, and he and several others encouraged then Governor Terry Branstad to pass legislation to reimburse excess energy production. Eventually he was hired by Zond Energy (which became Enron Wind) to do wind farm development, and the family moved to Colorado for approximately 6-7 years. Ken also spent a year in Maryland with a hydro-developer who used Ken to develop a hydro project on the Illinois River.

His foresight, ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit, and love of country can be seen all across the nation through the proliferation of the renewable energy industry through hydro solar and wind energy.

From Illinois, Zond Energy asked him to come back to Iowa and develop the first commercial wind energy projects in the Midwest right here in Buena Vista County and in Minnesota. Upon retiring, he served as a Buena Vista County Supervisor.

Ken was a loving and inspiring father. His family included: Greg (Brenda), children, Rachael (two great-grandchildren), Adam (deceased), Erica, Brittany and Brandon; Michael Denniston (Anne), children, Vicki, Joshua (deceased) and Kryssi; Benjamin (Tressa), children, Hanna and Olivia; April Barrera (Edgar), children, Edgar Jr. (four great-grandchildren), Brenden and Alexanna; Kenneth "Rob" Robert II (Tara), children, Madison, Kenneth "Robbie" Robert III and Ethan; Forrest (Sara), children, Abigail, Micah, Eden, Gabrielle and Layla.

We had such fun times together whether ice skating or hanging out with Elkader area friends; boating on Horsetooth Reservoir, Colo., or climbing in the mountains; boating on Chesapeake Bay; and lots of boating, fishing and skiing on Storm Lake. Fourth of July on the lake watching the fireworks in the boat with his grandkids. Ken helped his children learn the good old Iowa work ethic and to know and love Jesus as their Savior.

Each night we praised God for how good He has been to us and our family. We love that He allowed us to live in this country, with our strong Summit E Free church, fellow members, and the wonderful friends He has filled our life with. God has been our strong beacon – Ken's favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:29-31 (31), "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Based upon this verse, Ken had quite a collection of eagle statues.

We know that before we are aware of our needs, God provides for us. We spent years in search of how to cope with dementia. With God's natural provisions, Ken outlived the diagnosis by several years.

Ken would encourage all to search for God's wisdom and purpose in life – that it might be the compass for each life and for our country; and to give thanks for Jesus' sacrifice that we might be forgiven and come home to Him.