Ken was born on October 23, 1923 and died in a private plane crash on March 19, 1923. He always loved aviation and most of his life was devoted to it. After serving at the end of World War II, Ken obtained his Aircraft and Power-plant license and was fortunate to join United Airlines as a mechanic in 1948. When United later reached out to its ranks for flight engineers who were willing to join the flight crew in the third seat, Ken enthusiastically volunteered. His wife JoAnne was very supportive, even though this was before pressurized airplanes and flying was much more dangerous than today. Ken would later be able to progress from flight engineer to copilot and eventually Captain in the B-737 aircraft many years later. After age 60, when the FAA forced him out of the Captain's seat, Ken was able to return to the flight engineer seat but now traveling around the world in the B-747. This was a long way from the DC-6 propeller craft of the late 1950's.

Ken's real passion was for private aviation, which was rekindled in 1969 when he spotted a picture of a Breezy home-built aircraft on the cover of a Popular Mechanics magazine. He spent the next several years building his own Breezy, which flew for the first time in 1971. From that day forward, he spent most of his non-working hours at the airport or with fellow pilots. Ken's two sons would later earn their private pilot licenses and join Ken in his passion for Breezy flying. Their sister did not earn a license, but loved getting Breezy rides.

Ken became a regular at all California airshows and was very active in the Experimental and Antique Aircraft Associations for over 30 years. Ken was an airplane owner until his death and he made many, many dear friends along the way. His funeral was standing room only, with friends and family celebrating an amazing and full life.