Kenneth O. Bissell

Kenneth passed into the afterlife on Sept. 20, 2013 surrounded by his books, beautiful music and his devoted daughter, Susan, by his side.

He lived a fantastic life. Kenneth was born in Rock Island, Ill. on Oct. 26, 1919 during the time when Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States. He grew up during the Great Depression and from a young age was an inventor.

He built his first ham radio at the age of 12 from spare parts he found in garbage cans. The youngest of five brothers, he asked his mother, Mae, to sign his enlistment papers to join the U.S. Navy when he was only 17.

His naval career began in Long Beach, Calif. and after training he was stationed on a mine sweeper in the South Pacific during World War II.

After several years of service to the U.S. Navy he achieved the rank of Chief Electrical Warrant Officer on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Saratoga. Due to his rank he was given officer quarters on the commissioned yacht owned by the Vanderbilts, and he liked to joke that he slept in Gloria Vanderbilt’s bed, which he actually did.

He saw combat during World War II and the Korean War and he often said that despite the hardships those were some of the greatest days of his life.

During the war Kenneth traveled the South Pacific to Hawaii, Japan, Australia, the Philippine Islands and Korea.

For more than 50 years he held an Advanced Extra Class Radio License with the call letters KOKB. After the war he worked as a consultant and advisor for various television and radio stations in California and Colorado.

Always a traveler, Ken retired early in life and moved to Costa Rica for two years before relocating to Ensenada, Mexico where he lived for several years before moving back to California to be closer to his brothers.

A lifetime scholar and historian, Kenneth taught himself how to use a computer at the age of 86. He was active in politics and current events and had a love for learning throughout his entire life. He was an active member of Fountain Hills American Legion Post No. 58 and the Palo Verde, Calif. VFW.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lori; wife, Patsy; and his four brothers, Al, Bill, Larry and Les.

He is survived by two daughters, Susan Bissell Mazurek and her companion, Walter Lenhardt, both of Fountain Hills and Barbara Ennenga and her husband, Larry, of Littleton, Colo.; six grandchildren and one great grandchild. This is the legacy he leaves behind. His life lives on through us.

Thank you dad for all the wisdom, advice, courage and sacrifice that you gave to your country and your children. Your beautiful blue eyes can sleep softly now. You were a “hell of a man.”

Many thanks to the Hospice of the Valley Team L, dad’s angels without wings. Bless you all for supporting dad’s decision to leave this world in his own way.

Interment is at Riverside, Calif. National Cemetery.