Ken Mansfield died peacefully in his home at the age of 85 in his own bed on November 17, 2022 at 7:45 am with his wife of 36 years by his side.  He was diagnosed in December 1996 with a very rare blood cancer Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia and had been in hospice care.  He was preceded in death by his father, Floyd Mansfield, mother Marian Welch Mansfield, younger brother, Dale Mansfield, and nephew Jerry Mansfield.  He is survived by his wife, Connie Mansfield, and three children, Kevin Mansfield, Lisa Mansfield and Mark Mansfield.  He is also survived by two grandsons, Stuart Mansfield and Max Mansfield and nephew, Jeffrey Mansfield.

Ken was born on October 14, 1937 in Noxen, Pennsylvania.  He grew up in Lewiston, Idaho and after graduating high school in 1955, he joined the navy where he served as a medic. Upon his discharge from active duty, he enrolled at the University of Idaho eventually transferring to San Diego State University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.  He was also senior class president and president of his fraternity TKE.  His first job was with the Saturn and Surveyor space programs in San Diego.  At the same time, he sang with a folk group called The Town Criers and opened a popular folk club "The Land of Oden" in the San Diego suburb of La Mesa.

He caught the attention of an executive at Capitol Records in Hollywood and got a job as the company's district Promotion Manager West Coast, making him one of the youngest executives at Capitol.  He was quickly promoted and was eventually hired by the Beatles in 1967 to become U.S. Manager of Apple Records.  In addition to the Beatles, while at Capitol, he was also responsible for overseeing the recording careers of the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, The Band, Bobbie Gentry, Buck Owens, and many more.

In his position as an Apple executive and personal liaison for the Beatles between the UK and US, Ken was among a handful of eyewitnesses to join The Beatles as they performed their legendary last ever gig on the rooftop at their London headquarters on January 30, 1969.  Ken is easy to recognize as he was the only one on the roof that day wearing a white coat.

Ken later moved over to MGM Records as its vice president in charge of marketing and artist relations.  Two years later in 1971 he was hired by Andy Williams to be president of his CBS record company, Barnaby Records – an artist roster that included Ray Stevens, Jimmy Buffett, Everly Brothers, Paul Anka and Claudine Longet.

When Ken left Barnaby in 1973 he finally fulfilled his longtime career goal of becoming a full-time record producer.  He set up Hometown Productions Inc. and went on to produce acts such as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser and other cutting-edge and Outlaw country artists.

He produced several number one records by Waylon, Jessi, Waylon and Willie as well as Jessi's crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa".  He also produced The Flying Burrito Brothers, David Cassidy, Don Ho, Nick Gilder, Sam Neely, Byron Berline and Sundance.

In the early eighties, Ken moved to Nashville, Tennessee.  It was there he met his future wife, Connie.  Ken was struck by her deep commitment to her faith and belief in Jesus, and in the mid eighties Ken committed his life to the care of Christ to which he stayed true to the end of his life.   Ken won a Grammy and a Dove award as the producer for the Gaither Vocal Band's "Homecoming" album. He also worked as a producer for the legendary Imperials.

In 2000 he became a published author of his first book "The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay'. That book prompted some pastors to contact Ken asking him to speak and share his testimony at their churches.  This launched a whole new trajectory in Ken's life that led to traveling to speak in churches and college campuses and other venues around the country from 2002 through 2014 until a stroke prohibited him from further travels.  With travel curtailed, Ken focused his attention on writing and completed and published 6 more books.  Ken's final book was "The Roof" The Beatles' Final Concert by the man in the white coat" released in 2018.

Ken loved the word of God and there was one verse in particular, his favorite, that truly expressed what he made front and center for his life. It is, "But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing You and knowing all is well between us.  And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face. Psalm 17:15

Ken Mansfield had a life well lived on this earth and has now awakened in heaven to see his beloved Savior Jesus Christ face to face for all eternity.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mercy Multiplied (mercymultiplied.com), a ministry that spoke into Ken's life or to the Waldenstrom's Foundation (iwmf.com) to further their research and cure for this rare disease.

And, as Ken would always say in closing, " God bless us all "!!