Kenneth seemed to care so little for his own art work—I doubt I will ever understand why. But part of the way I am dealing with the grief of losing him is to steward the best of his work that he did not sell or gift during his lifetime. We have begun to reproduce art postcards and will also compile a catalog, at minimum.

Together with some of his art friends, we are also arranging to donate all of the proceeds from the sale of his collectibles-“treasures” to an endowed art scholarship in his memory at his alma mater, Western Carolina University. The donation is directed to benefit a student from the first-generation of his or her family to attend college in the visual arts, as was Kenneth.

The biographical note appended to the contract for the endowment follows:

Kenneth Aaron Pace ’74, received a BFA from Western Carolina, completing his education on the G.I. Bill following his service in the Vietnam War with the United Stated Navy on the USS Hancock aircraft carrier. He died unexpectedly on Sunday, September 3, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee, at 67 years of age. Kenneth was raised in Hendersonville, North Carolina. He was the oldest of seven sons and was the first one in his extended family to attend college. Kenneth and his wife of 41 years, Theresa Pepin, moved to Knoxville in 1982 where he worked on downtown renovations in connection with the World’s Fair. Over the years, Kenneth continued to take art classes at the University of Tennessee and most recently served on the board of Candoro Arts and Heritage Center. He participated in a number of juried arts exhibits and led an art group near his home in Lakemoor Hills. A well-known general contractor in the Knoxville area, he also rebuilt Chapel View, a cottage across from the historic Jesuit Retreat Center in Hot Springs, NC, as a second home. Kenneth considered protest of the Vietnam War, participation in Woodstock, and studies in college as important catalysts in his life and art work. His family is proud to honor Kenneth with a scholarship to support students with financial need—particularly those that are first generation college students—and who seek to realize their passion for art.

The newly established scholarship in his memory was acknowledged at the anniversary celebration of the College of Visual and Performing Arts on 10 February 2018. One of his professors, the well known ceramicist Joan Byrd, attended and remembered Kenneth especially for his sense of integrity and quiet strength.

Also in his memory, many of his historical collections focused on East Tennessee and western North Carolina have been donated to establish the Kenneth Aaron Pace Special Collection at the University of Tennessee Library.

The biographical note for that collection follows:

Kenneth Aaron Pace (1950-2017) pursued many avocations in his lifetime—artist, photographer, builder, woodworker and stone craftsman—but hunter-gatherer could be said to have been his single most consuming, personal passion. He saw history reflected in each artifact and never failed to take the opportunity to learn its particular story and provenance. Unfortunately for all the rest of us, he was best at relaying those in his inimitable style of oral tradition—most are not recorded.

It is fitting that UT Libraries Special Collections now share the historical documents and photographs he collected with scholars and enthusiasts of future generations in order that we may all learn more about the parts they played in our common history.

As far back as his earliest childhood years in Hendersonville, North Carolina, Kenneth’s grandmother Eleanor Louise Knous Bourget (1901-1994) recognized and encouraged his collecting interest, especially in stamps and post cards. She passed-on to Kenneth many items in her own collections for safekeeping. He also learned much from his aunt, Mary Bourget Hamilton (1932-2005), a professional appraiser and antiques dealer. By the time of his death, Eleanor’s grandson had amassed a remarkable number of documents and collectibles—many of them representative of the heritage of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Despite his travels in the Pacific with the Navy during the Vietnam War, a defining hitchhiking trip to Woodstock when he was 19 years old, and many later journeys across the Atlantic to Europe and the British Isles, Kenneth was most at home in the Appalachian Mountains. Born and raised in Hendersonville, NC, he earned his bachelor of fine arts degree in 1974 on the GI Bill in Cullowhee at Western Carolina University. He and his wife of 41 years, Theresa Marian Pepin, moved to Knoxville in 1981 where Kenneth worked on many buildings in connection with the World’s Fair. His art work has been published in a number of exhibition catalogs, magazines and journals, including the critically acclaimed book Teach Yourself Visually: Drawing by Dean Fisher and Josephine Robinson (Visual, 2007).

Kenneth and Theresa were also supportive of the unique public library on the Appalachian Trail in Hot Springs, North Carolina, where they renovated Chapel View, a cottage also on the Trail and across the road from the historic Jesuit Retreat Chapel and Hostel. Historical works and reference bibliographies comprise part of the items donated by them to that small rural branch library, in addition to ongoing support for the newly refurbished facility.

In addition to this special collection at the University of Tennessee, Kenneth’s family has established an endowed art scholarship at his alma mater on behalf of first generation college students from the Appalachian region.

The acknowledgement from the Library came from friends and librarians Ken Wise and Anne Bridges. Ken lives just a few doors up from us in Lakemoor Hills and spent a great deal of time with Kenneth in his treasure room listening to him talk about his many collectibles.

Dear Theresa:

With much gratitude, but great sadness, we pause to thank you for your donation of the Kenneth Aaron Pace Collection to the University of Tennessee Libraries’ Special Collection. Kenneth’s curiosity about remnants of the past translates into a collection that will be examined by researchers interested in local history as well as the wider associations evoked by its great treasury of photographs. Kenneth’s collection will stand as a lasting memorial to his passion for the history of East Tennessee and his diligence in ensuring that the tangible representations of that history not be lost. . . . 

Rest assured that we will care well for Kenneth’s legacy.

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