Ken was born in Nebraska. He lived in London before he settled in New York, where he lived most of his adult life. He met his wife Lorraine, a native New Yorker, standing in line for tickets at Metropolitan Opera. After Ken and Lorraine got married, they decided to have a family immediately due to Lorraine’s age. The Doctor ignored Ken’s pleas to take care of Lorraine until she had been in labor twenty-four hours.  The result of his neglect was that Heather was born with profound brain damage.