Rev. Ken Saito (74) of La Crosse passed away peacefully on October 1st at his home surrounded by his family. He was born on July 18, 1948 to Isao and Noriko(Matsui) Saito in Tokyo, Japan. He attended Keio University in Tokyo, a Bible college in Iowa and Dubuque Theological Seminary for his M.Div and M.A. in Pastoral Counseling. He married Rev. Linda E. Schmidt, his partner in life and ministry for over 30 years, on June 24th, 1989 in San Mateo, California and had three children. He worked as a pastor for churches in California and Yokohama, Japan. His interests were Kendo (a Japanese Martial Art), cooking, gardening, and traveling with family. In his later years, he translated “Under the Unpredictable Plant” by Eugene Peterson into Japanese with the help of other pastors in Japan especially his friend Rev. Tomokawa and his sister. He is survived by his wife, Linda, his children, Chikara, Naomi (Grant), and Isaku, and his younger brother and sister, Jun and Ryoko. He is preceded in death by his parents. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred for Gundersen Medical Foundation/ Gundersen Hospice in memory of Rev. Ken Saito. A celebration of Ken’s life and a Witness to the Resurrection will be held at 2:00 pm, Friday, October 14,2022. Visitation will be from 1:00 pm until the time of services at First Presbyterian Church, 233 west Avenue South, La Crosse.