Rufus "Ken" M. Meadows

Rufus (Ken) McKinley Meadows was born on June 5, 1963 to Lular Mae Smith and Rufus Junior Meadows. The youngest of three children, he was indisputably Lular’s favorite and could do no wrong. Ken’s life was cut short on July 23, 2021 after a hard fought battle with leukemia and lymphoma. 

He is survived by his beloved wife of 34 years, Pamela Meadows and his children Lila Meadows (Ian), Ziggy Price, Donald Price and Emily Willis, his granddaughter Madeleine and his fur son and loyal companion, Mr. Pickles. Ken is also survived by his sister Donna Fonzi, brother Danny Meadows (Tina), his brother-in-law John (Vicki), his nephews David (Felicia), Derek, Kyle, Jamie, Kristofer, Danny Jr. and his nieces Amanda (Robert), Anastasia, Laura, Kiersten and Kristi and great nieces and nephews Breanna, Hazley, Blake and Camden, Liam and Miles, Justin, Marianna and Alexander. He also leaves behind his cousin Ricky (Kathy), Connie (Rick) and many other cousins in Virginia.

In his 58 years, Ken lived a life of adventure and with the help of his family and friends, checked off quite a few items on his bucket list. Highlights include several trips to the Caribbean and countless shots of tequila, winning the first and last Meadows-Lucas-Fonzi all-male wet t-shirt contest, swinging 400 feet in the air over the gorge at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with Ziggy strapped to his chest, leading his team to victory at long last in the Big Dog Golf Invitational, driving a race car at 121.67 miles per hour, and teeing off with his closest friends at Old St. Andrews in Scotland. 

Chief Christmas tree picker and tinsel arranger. “Reverend” and wedding officiant by the power invested in him online. Master gift wrapper. Party starter and shameless dancer. Billiard shark. Expert builder of all things. Ken was truly a jack of all trades who made all of our crazy visions come to life, no matter the project. He really could do it all. He was the absolute best of us and leaves an unfillable void. 

A funeral service will be held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue on Wednesday, July 28th, 2021 at 10 am. Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 from 3 - 5 and 7 - 9 pm.

Everyone will be invited to come back to the house following the funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Ken’s memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: www.lls.org

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