Wilson, Leland Kendall "Ken"
August 26, 1926 - January 4, 2013
Ken Wilson, a longtime resident of Manhattan Beach, California, passed away on Friday, January 4. He was born in 1926 in Merriam, Kansas, where he grew up and later worked and managed his dad's hatchery. He attended the University of Missouri- Kansas City where he lettered in baseball and basketball and got his teaching credential. While living in Missouri, he taught at Pembroke Country Day, Southwest High School and Kansas City Missouri J.C. He moved out to California in the 50's and taught at Beverly Hills High School where he met his wife to be, Barbara Lucille Holman. The two were married in 1961 and moved to Manhattan Beach. Here he taught psychology and speech at Aviation High School and coached baseball as well as various other sports up until the school's closure in 1982 at which time he moved on to teach at Redondo Union High School. He enjoyed interacting with students of all kinds. After coaching, he got into officiating various different high school sports and college basketball. He later became an assigner and liaison for the South Bay Unit of the California Basketball Officials Association and evaluator for college basketball's West Coast Conference. He is survived by his loving wife Barbara and two sons, Lee and Chris.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Woman's Club of Redondo Beach, 400 S. Broadway, Redondo Beach, CA, on Saturday, January 19, 2013, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm to share memories and celebrate the life of Ken Wilson. If you wish to speak at the Memorial Service, please send an email to lwilson_forkwilsonmemorial@yahoo.com by Friday, January 18.