Nov. 24--Former Tinley Park Mayor Kenneth J. Fulton passed away Nov. 20. He was 86 years old.
Mr. Fulton was mayor from 1965 to 1969 and served as a village trustee for 32 years, first from 1961-65, then from 1971 to 1999, village officials said.
He was a Korean War veteran, a former engineer and a father to three children, Trustee Dave Seaman said. Fulton's wife, Dorothy Young, preceded him in death, village officials said.
Seaman, whose swearing-in as trustee was seconded by Fulton in 1984, said the former mayor was driven to serve by "love for the community."
"He was truly committed to Tinley Park, and he always remained very interested in what was going on," Seaman said.
After attending junior high in Tinley Park, Fulton graduated from Thornton Township High School in Harvey, according to a village news release. He attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
Mr. Fulton's family was one of the first to settle the village in 1844, according to the release, making him "the last direct descendant of one of the original founding families that settled the area in 1844."
The Fulton family came to the United States from Ireland, village officials said. Village Clerk Pat Rea said Fulton "represented his historic family with distinction."
"He also was one of the early leaders in modern television, working as a respected senior electrical engineer for Motorola during the transition period from black-and-white to color television," Rea said in a statement. "His long years of public service are matched by the long years of his family in Tinley Park, from its founding in the 1840s until today."
Joy Fulton, the former mayor's daughter, said her father was a quiet man who was driven to serve the community because he believed it was his duty.
"He just felt it was something he needed to do -- a stewardship of his community," Fulton said.
Even near the end, when Joy "gently" suggested "that maybe the car keys should be hung up," Ken Fulton argued that he had to attend a veteran's meeting each month, she said.
In his personal life, Mr. Fulton was a devoted Cubs fan and a lifelong newspaper reader, she said.
Current Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki praised Mr. Fulton for dedicating more than 50 years to public service. Zabrocki said Mr. Fulton was well-known to his colleagues as a "quiet thinker" who took a conservative approach to finance.
Mr. Fulton could often be seen at budget and finance meetings "with a pencil, looking at numbers," Zabrocki said.
"He was always kind of the quiet guy with the dry wit that seemed to get right to the heart of everything," Zabrocki said.
"Part of Tinley Park died with him," Zabrocki added.
gpratt@tribpub.com
Twitter @royalpratt
