Kenneth Truman Kelley
On December 18, 2023 Kenneth Truman Kelley passed away at his El Dorado Hills home surrounded by close family. He was born January 17, 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Grace and Truman Kelley, but primarily grew up in Santa Barbara. More recently he resided in the Santa Ynez valley for over 35 years where he lost his wife Susan in 2018. He was the youngest of his siblings and is survived by his brother Kalon, two children Karl and Kristen, his grandson Matthew Salmon and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Ken lived life to the fullest from a young age. As a teenager he fought forest fires, was a grip in high school theater and raced motorcycles and outlaw cars. He soon moved on to airplanes, joining the U. S. Air Force. There he became a navigator and ultimately a pilot, both of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. He served tours of duty during the height of the cold war as a navigator on a B-52, a pilot of a C-141, and in Vietnam as an HH-3E rescue pilot. He was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight, notably saving numerous lives. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and moved on into the private sector where he trained corporate pilots to fly Sabreliner business jets.
Still young after his aviation career, he started his own business in the software industry, writing several applications that helped local doctors and pharmacists with billing. He also developed software for managing collections and addresses and trademarked them into commercially available products. His business eventually took a background role to working for other companies as a developer and ultimately as an IT manager.
Even with his busy career, he was very active with his family. Ken loved the outdoors and made sure the entire family had numerous opportunities to go hiking, camping and rock climbing. He became a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America and was recognized by the Air Force through their “Helping Hand” award for making a solid investment in the youth of America. He enjoyed the competitive nature of games and taught the family Bridge and numerous board games, ranging from Chess to Monopoly.
Ken loved working with wood and electricity, both which supported his hobby as a train enthusiast. His family’s cross-country move by train from the east back to Santa Barbara was a major influence and ignited his lifelong passion for trains. His fascination was further spurred on by his childhood neighbor who had a layout of Lionel trains. This cemented his toy train collector bug, inspiring him to create numerous layouts in the various places he resided. In addition to the personal layouts and displays, Ken loved to design and run layouts for train conventions and museums; always leaving lasting impressions on fellow enthusiasts and admirers.
All are welcome to the outdoor memorial service where Ken and Susan will be laid to rest together. The full military honor service will be held Monday, March 25 at 2 pm at the Santa Barbara Cemetery located at 901 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.
Loper Funeral Chapel Directors