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Ken Sheeran brought more than his engineering talents to the Roanoke Valley when he came South from Canada in 1960. He brought a love of hockey big enough to spread around.

Sheeran, a member of the Roanoke Valley Hockey Hall of Fame and the winner of USA Hockey’s inaugural Chet Stewart Award, died Wednesday. He was 86.

Sheeran broke his hip in a fall in July, and had suffered with complications since, his son Doug Sheeran said.

Born in tiny Kirkaldy, Alberta, Sheeran served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II before going to work as an electrical engineer for Canada GE.

GE transferred him to Salem in 1960, and that is when Sheeran began volunteering his time, energy and garage space to youth hockey. He also gave his money, donating the fees he earned as an official to help offset the costs of playing hockey for local kids.

Sheeran was a founding member of both Valley Youth Hockey Association (1965) and the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (1983). He coached in the VYHA from 1965-1999 and was on its board of directors for decades.

For 21 years, he was also a registered referee with USA Hockey, and training and supervising off-ice officials for the professional hockey teams in the valley. In 1987, Sheeran was the coordinator of off-ice officials for the U.S. Olympic Festival.

In 2000, Sheeran was inducted into the Roanoke Valley Hockey Hall of Fame and later given USA Hockey’s Chet Stewart Award, inaugurated that year to honor outstanding contributors to USA Hockey Officiating Education.

A memorial service will be held for Sheeran on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Oakey’s South Chapel.

-- katrina waugh