Kenneth Lee Campbell

Ken Campbell of Elk Grove, California, passed away December 4, 2014, at Sutter General Hospital.

Ken was born in Sacramento on June 9, 1929. He was adopted at birth by S.A. and Hilda Campbell and raised in Winters, California. He married Lucille Faye Ruggles, his high school sweetheart, in 1948. They moved to Sacramento where Ken worked for Crocker-Anglo National Bank (now merged with Wells Fargo) for 20 years first as a teller, then rising to head teller. He served in the California National Guard Reserve between 1948 and 1955. He left banking to work for the State of California and rose to a supervisor in the Department of Health Services over his twenty-year career. In retirement, Ken worked as a driver for the Hertz Rental Car Co.

Ken and Lucille moved to Elk Grove in 1987 and had many friends in their neighborhood.

Ken was a Master Mason and a Past Master of Sacramento Lodge 40 F&AM. He received the prestigious Hiram Award from Sacramento 40 in 2001. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite and Ben Ali Shrine. As a Shriner, Ken was a volunteer driver for many years transporting young patients to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital in San Francisco and later in Sacramento.

Ken enjoyed driving in any capacity, for work or pleasure. His driving history started early by being behind the wheel of the truck slowly moving down the ruts between trees in his father’s orchards as his grandfather walked alongside and moved fruit boxes to and from the truck bed. Ken’s favorite word was “Go!” and he would use it enthusiastically to announce an imminent trip, or expectantly in hopes he could convince someone to go on a drive with him.

In addition to driving, Ken was a fan of all things avionic. He earned a pilot’s license as a young man, but Lucille “grounded” him after they were married. Still, he liked watching airplanes and being a passenger in airplanes big and small. Much of his work for Hertz featured driving to airports, which was why it was such a perfect fit for him.

He enjoyed many hobbies through the years including woodworking, model railroading, needlepoint, and stained glass. He enjoyed reading, especially tales of the naval sea adventures of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower, among others. In earlier times, he enjoyed fishing on the beaches between Bodega Bay and Jenner, California with his brother-in-law, Bob Ruggles. Bodega Bay remained a favorite travel destination long after he stopped fishing.

He was a cancer survivor, recently winning a fight with atypical Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Ken had a big heart and a big sense of humor. Nothing gave him more pleasure than making others laugh. It didn’t matter if it was family member or a waiter, if he was able to trigger a smile in someone, he felt he had ‘done his job’ for the day. In the depths of chemotherapy, the family and health care workers knew that he was feeling better when his sense of humor returned.

He was a loving husband and a perfect father and grandfather and will be sorely missed. Ken is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lucille Campbell, daughters Jeanette Amey (Michael) and Nancy Woodward (Bill), son Tom Campbell (Michelle), and grandchildren Mary Amey, Robert Woodward, and Ian Campbell.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 12 at 11 a.m. at Harry A. Nauman and Son, 4041 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento and a private interment will be held in Winters, California.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.