Anna Konopka
Anchorage, AK
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Anna K. I lived in Bellingham Wa for more than 17 years....
my family roots and many of the people I love are there. I am back in Alaska now.
I write today to tell you about my friend Kenneth Joseph.
I got sober at the Bellingham Group on Railroad Avenue in May of 1997. Kenneth was a long time member of that group with long term sobriety, even at that time, and one of my first and closest friends from that group. There was a group of about 6 to 8 of us that hung out at meetings, went to coffee at the Horseshoe Cafe before and after meetings, did 12 step calls together and were the service core of, not only our own home group, but the AA District itself and went to meetings all over the state.
Kenneth was a part of our service group all the time. As an elder he was a mentor to a lot of the younger native guys from Lummi, Nooksack, Tulalip, and Darrington among many others. He was a mentor and a friend to me and a lot of the other group members who were serious about their sobriety and wanted to be the best examples we could be to all the people in our lives. Kenneth told his story and spoke his truth in many countless meetings across the state of Washington. He also played music, beautiful music, with groups of other musicians, quite often in Tulalip. Family, playing music with his friends, sharing sobriety and love of life was very important to Kenneth. I have always felt blessed to know his brother as well, though we didn't get to see him as much as we all would have liked. And kathy, he loved going to the movies with Kathy. Kenneth always included me in what was happening in his life, even with family I never met.... he was my friend and we shared all the good times and the bad.
In 1999 I also joined Al Non and my sponsor was in the Sedro Wooley group. I then discovered that Kenneth had been going to Alanon meetings all over the place. We went to many Alanon meetings together over the years with some other amazing people who wanted to be a part of the solution, not the problem. We always encouraged and supported each other. The AA and Alanon network in Northwest Washington is very good and Kenneth was a big part of it. He helped to bring meetings to the young people on the Lummi Reservation and was very active with the other elders in sobriety. He taught and tutored mathematics at the Northwest Indian College at Lummi. He was very serious about helping others in any way he could.
Unfortunately, Kenneth suffered from a severe from of diabetes, which has taken the lives of many of people he loved over the years. For a couple of years before he was killed, as a result of the worsening diabetes, he was losing his eyesight and was becoming less able to function on his own as he was getting older, he finally couldn't even drive. It was harder for him to get out and go to meetings or take care of his own needs and he was reliant more and more on friends like kathy Humphreys for help. Fortunately for Kenneth, Kathy was always there for him. she took him out to meetings, to do laundry and shopping and to the movies, which he dearly loved. He never told me how bad things were for him. When I talked to him on the phone he always put a positive spin on his life.... I didn't know that he was failing as badly as he was. Like most of us, Kenneth would never really ask for help. I always had to suggest something. He would never ask. I am guilty myself of not getting on a plane and coming to Bellingham to see what was happening.
I hope that my statement might in some small way help somehow in the conviction of his killer or killers. Kenneth was a great friend and a wonderful human being. He will be sorely missed by many.
Respectfully,
Anna Konopka