Kenneth M. Novak Obit

KENNETH M. NOVAK, 92, died July 28, 2021 at his home. He was born March 27, 1929 in Crosby to John and Josephine Novak. He married Joan Larson on July 26, 1952. He played many sports, taking the high school basketball team to state tournaments in three consecutive years. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951, he served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. while playing for the Army team. He then played professionally for the Minneapolis Lakers before being traded to the Baltimore Bullets. He became the youngest head coach of St. Cloud State University in 1954 at 24 years of age. He loved teaching his students while at Hopkins High for 31 years, retiring in 1987. He has been inducted into the Minnesota Coaches, SCSU, Hopkins High and Crosby High Halls of Fame. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Sherry Novak, a great-grandaughter and siblings John Novak and Geraldine Erb. He is survived by his wife Joan, son and daughter-in-law, Ken and Shauna Novak and daughter and son-in-law, Shauna and Bruce Hoffarber, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Services have been held.