Kenneth P. Berg, 85, Founder of John Knox Village killed in wreck

[wazzzy]

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/149455.html

The founder of John Knox Village - once hailed as the world's largest
retirement community - was identified Wednesday as the victim of a one-
car crash in south Kansas City.

Police said Kenneth P. Berg, 85, of Lee's Summit, died Tuesday
afternoon when his car careened off Missouri 150 near Horridge Road.

>From a humble start as a Presbyterian minister in Ottumwa, Iowa, in
the 1950s, Berg began carving what would become a billion-dollar
empire, building retirement communities in Missouri, Kansas and 15
other states, before losing it all in legal entanglements.

A statement issued by John Knox Village said Berg will be remembered
as a visionary and pioneer in the senior care industry.

"More than any other person in Kansas City, Dr. Berg has enriched the
lives of seniors in this community with his concept of housing and
services for retirees," Dan Rexroth, John Knox Village president, said
in the statement.

At various times, Berg served as pastor at churches in Jackson and
Wyandottte counties, and once served as choir leader in the ministry
of the Rev. Billy Graham.

Berg was also credited with founding Lee's Summit Hospital and John
Calvin Manor in Lee's Summit.

His retirement-community empire began falling apart in the late 1970s
and early 1980s after a succession of setbacks, including a federal
fraud conviction that sent him to prison, losses in civil lawsuits and
an IRS tax lien levied against him.

The civil lawsuits filed across the country sought millions of dollars
in damages for allegedly defrauding residents of the retirement
centers.

[kenneth...@gmail.com]

As usual, the true story is not told in this obit. His auto biography will tell the true story. To rescue a floundering retirement village that The Baptist had in Austin Texas, he invested all of how own capital and still needed more. He was unaware that only 6 notes could be signed from other investors and borrowed money from 8 of the residents. A
N attorney running for re-election used this as a spring board to bring down a man who was attempting to repair a village in bad disrepair. The news media from Mike Wallace and CBS sent Meredith Vieira and Mike's wife to investigate and with all of his personal money invested in many communities, Dr Berg had none to fight the charges. The media destroyed a very good man. That is the truth. His book will be published.

[Sarah Ehrett's Lesbian Love Interest]

On Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 12:23:01 PM UTC-8, kenneth...@gmail.com wrote:
> As usual, the true story is not told in this obit. His auto biography will tell the true story. To rescue a floundering retirement village that The Baptist had in Austin Texas, he invested all of how own capital and still needed more. He was unaware that only 6 notes could be signed from other investors and borrowed money from 8 of the residents. A
> N attorney running for re-election used this as a spring board to bring down a man who was attempting to repair a village in bad disrepair. The news media from Mike Wallace and CBS sent Meredith Vieira and Mike's wife to investigate and with all of his personal money invested in many communities, Dr Berg had none to fight the charges. The media destroyed a very good man. That is the truth. His book will be published.

He played a mean Theremin. We used to jam to the early morning hours.

And The Good Doctor would never tire of playing, pull my finger. He always thought THAT was funny.