Kenneth Ray Watkins surrounded by family peacefully passed away at his home in Shingle Springs, Calif., May 2, 2015.
Kenny was born May 25, 1925, in Laguna Beach. His youth was spent in Laguna Beach and it was love of the ocean and of country that caused Kenny in 1943 to leave his senior year of high school and enlist in the Navy at the age of 17.
After completing boot camp, Watkins attended schools to become a corpsman and then completed additional training as an x-ray technician. During one of his leaves home he married his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Patricia McCoy.
Watkins’s ship, the USS LaPorte, deployed to the Pacific. While anchored off Okinawa in support of that invasion, Watkins and his fellow shipmates were the first to meet and then endure the continuous onslaught of kamikaze attacks by the Japanese.
Watkins was released from the Navy in 1946 and returned to Laguna Beach. He relocated with his family to Anaheim in 1951 where his training as an x-ray technician was his lifelong occupation.
Watkins and his wife moved to Shingle Springs in 2001 to enjoy retirement life. He continued to stay involved by volunteering his time and services working in the emergency room at Marshal Medical Center in Placerville.
Watkins was most proud of his military service, being a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He was well aware that at almost 90 he was one of the dwindling numbers of World War II veterans and was especially proud when someone from a younger generation would thank him his for his service.
Watkins is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Patricia; son Stephen and his wife Joann; daughter Melinda and her husband Gaylen; granddaughter Jennifer and her husband Rich and granddaughter Loryn and her husband Derek.
Watkins was a member of the greatest generation and will be greatly missed by family and friends.
A celebration of life for family and friends will be held at a later date.
Memorial donations in Watkins name can be made to Snowline Hospice, Diamond Springs, Calif., or to The Wounded Warrior Foundation.
