Ken and I were very good friends during and after high school. He was one of the kindest (and neatest!) persons I've known. It seems odd to me that no one has posted a comment about him.
In the late '80s I would pick up my oldest daughter at Merry Moppet and we would go by Ken's apartment. He always had a cookie and some kind of stickers to give her, some kind words (took a genuine interest) for her. Oh yeah, and a beer for me. She still remembers and mentions it from time to time. He would visit my folks house and have a beer and asked my dad how "the lawyer business was.." Ken always made time to help someone. I helped him move a couple of times (always Belmont) and he reciprocated. We did an annual fishing trip for several years. Never saw him truly angry or upset. If there was an edgy side, I never saw it.
His neatness and organization were legendary, and showed in his cars. They were always detailed to the max. I remember getting in his SS396 in 1966 at CSM during a rain storm....he had layered several mats with a top layer of bath towels! There was so much protection on the floor it difficult to get in and out. Around the same time period on a sunny Saturday I came by his folks house in a 1960 Bonneville convertible with a case of beer and the top down. I told him I was headed to San Gregorio and asked him to hop in, He said no. He had to carpet his tool box. I was speechles, thinking '....sunny day, convertible, beer, beach, girls...' and he'd rather sit in the garage and carpet his tool box. When I asked why he was carpeting the drawers of his tool box he replied "Makes too much noise." We had a beer and I went to the beach. Box came out good.
The afternoon before he went to the hospital he dropped by my house and we talked about the car I was working on and a few other things, he seemed pretty reserved. A few days later I lost a very good friend. He was one of the good guys.
I lived down the hill from Ken and we became friends in the 8th grade. I too, think he was one of the good guys. Very kind person. I lost track of him after High School, but always think of him as my good neighbor in Belmont.
I remember Ken as one of the nicest guys that I ever knew. He and I went to grammar school together at Immaculate Heart of Mary catholic school and then at Carlmont.
Ken was always a neat freak, especially about his cars. You could always eat off of his cars as he kept them so clean.
Ken was also a matchmaker. He helped several of our friends and myself meet girls that we would eventually marry. He set up one night at A & W Root Beer in San Mateo for us to meet some girls. I met my future wife, Lorraine, that night. We eventually married after I graduated from San Jose State and have been married 43 years. Later, after comparing notes with several friends, he had done the same for them.
I got a phone call a few days before his surgery from Ken and he told me how serious his upcoming surgery was. A few days later I got the sad news that he didn't make it out of his surgery. I felt that he knew that was going to happen and that his call was more of a good bye call than anything. I know he called others and saw others just before his surgery. He really knew what might and did happen, but he was able to touch many of our lives for one last time. I will never forget Ken.
I remember Ken being a really cool guy too. I never knew about his surgery or what kind of surgery it was. I didn't know Dennis and Ken went to Immaculate Heart. I went there too, but don't remember much of it since my parents sent me there for only 1 year, and then they sent me to Nesbit school in Belmont. I do remember the nuns though and how mean they were. Back in those days, teachers were allowed to be pretty strict. Remember their clicker sticks to get your attention, and then they would hit you on the knuckles with a ruler if you were misbehaving. I was a stutterer back then, and I remember how frightend I was to go to confession on Fridays, because the Priest knew who I was because of my speech problems.
Sorry I turned Ken's memorial into a rant about Catholic Schools, but you struck a cord in my memory. Hope you make it to the reunion Dennis. We can reminisce more about Catholic School!
Frederic Graziani
Ken and I were very good friends during and after high school. He was one of the kindest (and neatest!) persons I've known. It seems odd to me that no one has posted a comment about him.
In the late '80s I would pick up my oldest daughter at Merry Moppet and we would go by Ken's apartment. He always had a cookie and some kind of stickers to give her, some kind words (took a genuine interest) for her. Oh yeah, and a beer for me. She still remembers and mentions it from time to time. He would visit my folks house and have a beer and asked my dad how "the lawyer business was.." Ken always made time to help someone. I helped him move a couple of times (always Belmont) and he reciprocated. We did an annual fishing trip for several years. Never saw him truly angry or upset. If there was an edgy side, I never saw it.
His neatness and organization were legendary, and showed in his cars. They were always detailed to the max. I remember getting in his SS396 in 1966 at CSM during a rain storm....he had layered several mats with a top layer of bath towels! There was so much protection on the floor it difficult to get in and out. Around the same time period on a sunny Saturday I came by his folks house in a 1960 Bonneville convertible with a case of beer and the top down. I told him I was headed to San Gregorio and asked him to hop in, He said no. He had to carpet his tool box. I was speechles, thinking '....sunny day, convertible, beer, beach, girls...' and he'd rather sit in the garage and carpet his tool box. When I asked why he was carpeting the drawers of his tool box he replied "Makes too much noise." We had a beer and I went to the beach. Box came out good.
The afternoon before he went to the hospital he dropped by my house and we talked about the car I was working on and a few other things, he seemed pretty reserved. A few days later I lost a very good friend. He was one of the good guys.
Judith Staples (Becker)
I lived down the hill from Ken and we became friends in the 8th grade. I too, think he was one of the good guys. Very kind person. I lost track of him after High School, but always think of him as my good neighbor in Belmont.
Dennis Beltrami
I remember Ken as one of the nicest guys that I ever knew. He and I went to grammar school together at Immaculate Heart of Mary catholic school and then at Carlmont.
Ken was always a neat freak, especially about his cars. You could always eat off of his cars as he kept them so clean.
Ken was also a matchmaker. He helped several of our friends and myself meet girls that we would eventually marry. He set up one night at A & W Root Beer in San Mateo for us to meet some girls. I met my future wife, Lorraine, that night. We eventually married after I graduated from San Jose State and have been married 43 years. Later, after comparing notes with several friends, he had done the same for them.
I got a phone call a few days before his surgery from Ken and he told me how serious his upcoming surgery was. A few days later I got the sad news that he didn't make it out of his surgery. I felt that he knew that was going to happen and that his call was more of a good bye call than anything. I know he called others and saw others just before his surgery. He really knew what might and did happen, but he was able to touch many of our lives for one last time. I will never forget Ken.
Bill Roth
I remember Ken being a really cool guy too. I never knew about his surgery or what kind of surgery it was. I didn't know Dennis and Ken went to Immaculate Heart. I went there too, but don't remember much of it since my parents sent me there for only 1 year, and then they sent me to Nesbit school in Belmont. I do remember the nuns though and how mean they were. Back in those days, teachers were allowed to be pretty strict. Remember their clicker sticks to get your attention, and then they would hit you on the knuckles with a ruler if you were misbehaving. I was a stutterer back then, and I remember how frightend I was to go to confession on Fridays, because the Priest knew who I was because of my speech problems.
Sorry I turned Ken's memorial into a rant about Catholic Schools, but you struck a cord in my memory. Hope you make it to the reunion Dennis. We can reminisce more about Catholic School!