A former educator, triathelete, and great surfer, Ken suffered a stroke a couple of years ago and never fully recovered. It was always good to see him at the beach or a party, but it was sad not to see him in the water, where he was a natural athlete and good friend to many.
We send our condolences to Ken's wife, Shari, and his family. Services will be held today, Sunday, February 22 at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary 6001 W.Centinela Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90045 3pm.
Richard Wagner said that Joy is not in things: it is in us.
The person I know as Kenny Kohon is a person of joy.
Teacher, explorer, traveler, adventurer, dreamer, athlete, husband.
Ken was all of these and he did each with utter joy and enthusiasm.
Many of us met him when he was a math teacher at Madison Middle School. The first thing I noted about Kenny upon meeting him was his laugh. What a great, deep and infectious laugh!
I always remember that Kenny, as intelligent as he was, was often as naive and innocent as a ten year old child. Tell him a story, and his eyes would open wide, he would hang on your every word, believe every word and crumble to the floor when he found out it was not true. Five minutes later you could tell him another story and it would start all over again.
He left middle school and taught at a number of high schools. He absolutely enjoyed teaching the highest levels of math. He was a National Board Certified teacher, an honored and recognized position, and he told me on more than one occasion that he received his certification in no small part due to the guidance and assistance, and insistence of his wife, Shari.
Besides the higher math, I think that Kenny was drawn to high school because of the athletic events. Ken was a tremendous athlete. He was a national class ranked distance runner until he gave up competing as he approached his 40th birthday.
He enjoyed the athletic events, admired the athletic prowess of his students and was himself a learned student in the complexities of coaching many sports.
Kenny was an athlete throughout his life. He excelled at many sports. He was, as I said, a gifted runner. This I always saw as a God given talent. But, he was good in many sports because he was so obsessed by each sport. When he learned to ski, he thought and talked of nothing else. Golf. He was an addict! How many times could you carry on a conversation when Kenny was taking imaginary practice swings? By the way, he preferred to wear sandals instead of spikes on the golf course.
I need to mention surfing. Ken went from the foam board and almost overnight was on a regular board. It was a definite challenge, this surfing. He practiced his take off everywhere. The water, the beach, the bedroom, the bathroom. He would practice to make it perfect.
Kenny made people feel good. I feel good. I feel joy!
John McLaughlin
Below: Here are some of the Caribou, (and a wolf), toasting the memory of Kenny at the graveside service. Question: How many people in this photo are holding beers? (The absolute wrong answer would be two).
