Child advocate, author, and investigative reporter helped safeguard generations of children from abuse
Kenneth Wooden, 87, of Bolton, Vt., and Kissimmee, Fla., passed away during a majestic sunset in Colchester, Vt., on July 3, 2023, surrounded by his loving family, following a fiercely valiant 22-year battle with prostate cancer. Born on October 18, 1935, in Burlington, N.J., Ken overcame a childhood of poverty, severe learning disabilities and a speech impediment to become his family’s first college graduate, a celebrated writer, educator, speaker, investigative reporter, TV news producer and world-renowned child advocate. Ken credited his amazing wife, editor and lifelong partner, Martha, for making all his successes possible. A proud veteran of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, Ken lived his life with zeal, reveling in the company of his large and adoring family, as well as thousands of friends from all walks of life. His many passions included his County Donegal Irish heritage, American history, the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost, the New York Yankees, restoring antiques, Italian opera, winemaking, playing pinochle, cultivating flowers, Mediterranean cooking, entertaining in his “Kenny’s Irish Pub” woodshed and, most especially, “polishing the jewel”— gardening, mowing, and landscaping the breathtaking acreage of his remote cabin property nestled within Camel’s Hump State Park. Ken and Martha first visited Vermont in the summer of 1970 and were instantly smitten with the beauty of the Green Mountains, the serenity of a culture in tune with nature, and the honesty, grit, and generosity of its residents. In 1974, they bought the historic Honey Hollow Camp in Bolton and spent summers and holidays there for a decade before moving to Vermont year-round, where they divided their time between camp and their longtime residence in the heart of Shelburne Village. As the author of multiple juvenile-justice books, including the Pulitzer-nominated Weeping in the Playtime of Others, which exposed corruption within America’s juvenile prison system, Ken delivered expert testimony to the United States Congress on 16 occasions and contributed groundbreaking child-welfare reporting to dozens of major media outlets, including The New York Times, CBS'“60 Minutes,” Reader's Digest, and The Chicago Sun Times. Ken researched, wrote and created the Child Lures Prevention education program, which teaches youngsters safety strategies to protect against abuse. Through this program — continuously published without philanthropic or public sector support for 40+ years — Ken helped safeguard generations of children and families around the world and earned scores of accolades, including an Emmy Award, a U.S. Dept…
Child advocate, author, and investigative reporter helped safeguard generations of children from abuse
Kenneth Wooden, 87, of Bolton, Vt., and Kissimmee, Fla., passed away during a majestic sunset in Colchester, Vt., on July 3, 2023, surrounded by his loving family, following a fiercely valiant 22-year battle with prostate cancer. Born on October 18, 1935, in Burlington, N.J., Ken overcame a childhood of poverty, severe learning disabilities and a speech impediment to become his family’s first college graduate, a celebrated writer, educator, speaker, investigative reporter, TV news producer and world-renowned child advocate. Ken credited his amazing wife, editor and lifelong partner, Martha, for making all his successes possible. A proud veteran of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, Ken lived his life with zeal, reveling in the company of his large and adoring family, as well as thousands of friends from all walks of life. His many passions included his County Donegal Irish heritage, American history, the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost, the New York Yankees, restoring antiques, Italian opera, winemaking, playing pinochle, cultivating flowers, Mediterranean cooking, entertaining in his “Kenny’s Irish Pub” woodshed and, most especially, “polishing the jewel”— gardening, mowing, and landscaping the breathtaking acreage of his remote cabin property nestled within Camel’s Hump State Park. Ken and Martha first visited Vermont in the summer of 1970 and were instantly smitten with the beauty of the Green Mountains, the serenity of a culture in tune with nature, and the honesty, grit, and generosity of its residents. In 1974, they bought the historic Honey Hollow Camp in Bolton and spent summers and holidays there for a decade before moving to Vermont year-round, where they divided their time between camp and their longtime residence in the heart of Shelburne Village. As the author of multiple juvenile-justice books, including the Pulitzer-nominated Weeping in the Playtime of Others, which exposed corruption within America’s juvenile prison system, Ken delivered expert testimony to the United States Congress on 16 occasions and contributed groundbreaking child-welfare reporting to dozens of major media outlets, including The New York Times, CBS'“60 Minutes,” Reader's Digest, and The Chicago Sun Times. Ken researched, wrote and created the Child Lures Prevention education program, which teaches youngsters safety strategies to protect against abuse. Through this program — continuously published without philanthropic or public sector support for 40+ years — Ken helped safeguard generations of children and families around the world and earned scores of accolades, including an Emmy Award, a U.S. Dept…