Dr. Stephen Daniel Ketner, 61, passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 2, 2017.

Steve was born in Upper Darby, PA on August 7, 1956 to Rev. Francis Daniel Ketner, Jr. and Elsie Ann Ziert.

Steve grew up in parsonages in several communities; Media, PA, Glassboro, NJ, Oxford, PA, and Royersford, PA. He spent every summer helping his father at the Northeast Nazarene Campground in Northeast, MD. Steve graduated from Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, PA and Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, KS. He then attended Kansas University School of Medicine and began a career as a clinical pediatrician.

Dr. Ketner practiced pediatric medicine with Kaiser Permanente in Kansas City, KS for 20 years and served as the Chief of the Dept. of Pediatrics from 1991 to 1998. From there, Dr. Ketner transitioned to a career in Healthcare Informatics in several different roles and companies. He served as Physician Executive with Cerner Corp. At Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Dr. Ketner led the center through a major IT transformation as the Director of Medical Information. He also served in a similar role at Tenet Healthcare Corporation as the Regional Medical Director of Informatics. Most recently, Dr. Ketner served Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare in Waterloo, Iowa as Chief Medical Information Officer. Even as his career evolved, Dr. Ketner never lost his compassion for patient care that inspired him to be a practicing clinician.
That compassion could also be found in Steve’s volunteer efforts. He once served on the Board of Directors for KidsTLC and as a licensed Foster Parent for KidsTLC.
Steve and his wife Deanna previously taught Sunday School at Olathe College Church of the Nazarene. He also served on the Health Care Ministries Committee and was a volunteer at the Children’s Worship Hour Volunteer.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Steve had a passion for good music and good food. He was an avid collector of music, music memorabilia, infant feeding and care memorabilia as well as many other types of collectibles. Steve loved to share his passion for good BBQ when anyone came to visit Kansas City for family holidays or when tailgating at sporting events. He was a loving husband, a generous father, a caring son, and a committed believer.

Dr. Ketner is survived by his wife, Deanna (Martin), their two children, Lawrence “Scottie” and Kiwi Dee Ann, and their granddaughter, Emily Rosemarie as well as his father, Rev. Francis Ketner of Overland Park, his sister, Saundra of Quincy, MA, his brother John and his wife Carol, and their children, Jessica and Ryan also from Quincy, MA, his stepsiblings, Juanita (Varian) Copley, Valerie (Varian) Beeman, John Varian, and Virginia (Varian) Bauer. Steve will also be missed by Deanna’s parents, Rev. Jim and Shirley Martin, his brother-in-law Kevin, his wife, Cynthia, and their children, Kalyn and Eli and his sister-in-law, Lisa and her husband, Mike.

He was preceded in death by his mother Elsie (Ziert), and stepmother Doris (Varian) Ketner.
On Thursday, September 7, 2017, at Penwell-Gabel in Olathe, visitation hours will be held from 6-8 pm. A Celebration of Life will be at Noon on Friday, Sept 8th at the Garrett Chapel at Olathe College Church of the Nazarene. The burial at Oak Lawn Memorial Gardens will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Heart to Heart International or Doctors without Borders.
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