Kenneth Ken; Kenny; Yoo-Hoo; Black Bart J. Hood Sr.

Kenneth James Hood, Sr. was born December 22, 1941 in Newark, NJ. He was the second son of Carl William and Beatrice Belle (Foster) Hood. Ken grew up in Laurence Harbor, NJ with his two older siblings Arlene and Carl. Ken was raised by his loving, strong Mother since his Father tragically drowned in a boating accident when Ken was a toddler.

Ken always entertained us with his stories of his childhood antics. Ken was an adventurous and extremely precocious child. Ken always had a great sense of humor and a quick wit which probably kept him out of some trouble and most likely got him into some too! His favorite childhood memory was hunting in the woods and on the beach with his friends and lying in the high grass looking up in the sky, he said “it was very peaceful”. Ken had a few nicknames growing up including Yoo-Hoo and Black Bart. He spoke of comic books, and root beer fountain sodas from Mr. Anderson. Ken had many childhood friends that he still kept in touch with after all these years.

Ken joined the United States Navy in 1959 when he was only 17 years old with his childhood friend Billy Tremel. Ken was honorably discharged in 1961. Soon after coming home he met Cheryle Darlene Cottman from Ft. Lauderdale, FL while she was visiting her maternal grandmother for the summer who lived on the same street as Ken. Ken and Cheryle were married on May 10, 1963. They honeymooned in Atlantic City, NJ.

Ken and Cheryle welcomed the birth of their first born, Cheryle Daisy (“Binky”) in November, 1963 in NJ, and in December the family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and lived with, and then near Cheryle’s family. In Florida Ken received his GED Diploma from Ft. Lauderdale High School, and then graduated from the Broward County Police Academy. Ken was a Police Officer for the Hollywood Police Department from 1964-1968 where he received various commendations for his exemplary police work. Ken and Cheryle’s second daughter, Jewell Lynn was born in September, 1966 in FL.

The family moved to South Amboy, NJ in 1969. Ken and Cheryle’s youngest child, and only son, Kenneth, Jr. was born in August, 1969. Living across on Prospect St. were Ken and Cheryle’s friends for the past 41 years, Richard and Diane Brown and family. Ken was Godfather to the Browns’ youngest daughter and youngest child, Stefanie Anne. Moving back to New Jersey afforded Ken and his family the opportunity to spend time with his Mother and siblings, and their families. Ken had many happy memories of that period of time celebrating holidays and birthdays together, especially with his Mother who passed away in 1973.

After moving back to NJ, Ken got a job as a lineman for Western Union with the help from his childhood friend Donald “Wing” Tremel. He left Western Union after his job became obsolete. Ken applied to NJ Bell, and was accepted for training in being a cable splicer, where he worked until he was promoted within the company as a sales representative and again he worked his way up the ladder to become an Account Executive with AT&T and what is now called Alcatel/Lucent. He commuted a long distance, but enjoyed his job. He loved talking to people and he was a very good salesman. People trusted Ken and that is why he was so successful. Ken never met a stranger!

In November, 1974, Ken and family bought their first home in Barnegat, NJ. Many friends were made on Seaview Court, and Ken and Cheryle still communicate with Stan and Linda Rokicki after 35 years of friendship. Ken was active in Barnegat Little League with Ken, Jr. and served as President for a time. Over time Ken became active in the Barnegat Republican Club and was elected as a Township Committeeman, and served as Deputy Mayor, Mayor, and Police Commissioner at different times during his terms. Ken’s political involvement led to many relationships with local, county, and state politicians and officials.

Ken had his first heart attack in 1987, and opted to retire from AT&T and politics. Ken and family relocated back to Florida in 1990 and enjoyed a few years in their oceanfront condominium on the Space Coast. Ken and Cheryle sold their FL condo and decided to travel. In 1996, they took off going West for 47 days and ended their journey in Branson, Missouri. Branson became their next home, where they enjoyed time making new friends and music. Ken and Cheryle enjoyed their Branson Karaoke group for the last few years. Throughout Ken’s life he had many hobbies including fishing, hunting, camping, family vacations, and travel. Ken’s greatest passion was playing guitar and singing. Ken was a self-taught guitar player, and formed the Country Casuals with childhood friend Billy Hoffman in the ‘70’s. Anyone who knew Ken, likely enjoyed his singing and playing guitar and sometimes piano throughout the years.

Ken and Cheryle had opportunities to visit Austria (horse-drawn sleigh in the snow was a favorite of Ken’s), France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland with his sister-in-law Barbara and brother-in-law Mike. They enjoyed an Alaskan cruise, and visited likely 40 US states in his lifetime. Some favorite locations were Palm Springs, San Francisco, and the Redwoods in California. They rode horse back on the beach on the Oregon coast. Ken and Cheryle visited Elvis at Graceland, and The Grand Ole Opry. Ken had always loved Elvis Presley (“Loving You”) and his music. Some of Ken’s favorite country artists were George Strait, George Jones ("He Stopped Loving Her Today"), Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Charlie Pride (“Kiss an Angel Good Morning”).

Since the birth of their first grandchild in 2006, Isaac Kenneth, Ken and Cheryle have mainly resided in AZ to be near their daughters, and enjoy their grandson and son-in-law Chidozie. Ken’s family attended Ken, Jr’s beautiful wedding to Mariza in Naples, FL in 2007. Ken and Cheryle were also present for the birth of their second grandchild, granddaughter Makenzie Lynne in FL in 2009. When not in AZ, Ken and Cheryle enjoyed spending time with family in FL, and making memories with their son’s in-laws Gary and Raquel Lazor and family. Since Mariza joined the family and is an alumni of the University of Florida Gators, Ken enjoyed the rivalry between his daughter-in-law and his son who is an alumni of the Florida State University Seminoles (Binky, too!).

Since 1987 Ken battled heart disease and life changed as he and Cheryle knew it. Some for the better, and some for the worse. They always were grateful for the quality time they got to spend together without work getting in the way! They were able to spend quality time with their adult children and grandchildren. They loved going to the movies, watching movies, watching television, playing games, and reading. Television viewing was always a favorite pastime of Ken’s, starting way back with his westerns including “Bonanza” and “Gunsmoke”, and family favorites “The Waltons”, and “Happy Days”. Ken enjoyed many years of playing chess, “Scrabble” and “Upwords”. Ken loved to watch “Jeopardy”, and “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. We always encouraged Ken to go on the show since he was so intelligent and well-rounded in all areas. Ken knew that if we were ever contestants we wanted Ken to be our life-line for the show, as he was in real-life. Ken developed a passion and skill for Poker in the last few years. An $800 win in Las Vegas, NV gave Ken the courage to join a poker tournament in 2006 while visiting his sister-in-law Jewell in Boca, Raton FL and he won $50,000!

Ken passed away on October 18, 2010 at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, AZ with his wife, 3 children, and son-in-law at his side. Ken is survived by his wife of 47 years, Cheryle; as well as daughter Cheryle and her husband Chidozie and son Isaac of Arizona; daughter Jewell of Arizona; and son Kenneth, Jr. and his wife Mariza and daughter Makenzie of Florida. Ken is also survived by his older brother Carl and wife Rita of North Carolina and their family, as well as older sister Arlene of New Jersey and her daughters and their families. Ken was also Godfather to two of Arlene's four daughters.

Ken still had a couple of destinations on his wish list to visit such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA and the Appalachian Trail. Ken had always wanted to visit and walk on the Trail. We talked about a 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Hawaii and he wanted to visit Pearl Harbor. We honored Ken’s wishes of cremation, and hope to bring a part of him to some of the places mentioned above that he was not able to visit due to his declining health.

Ken was a loving, caring, giving, and understanding spouse and Father. He was loyal to family and friends. Ken’s sense of humor and wit were never lost even when his health was failing. Ken found joy in his family and friends, and he will be missed forever. We found a poem that we wanted to share…..

“He had a nature you could not help loving,

And a heart that was purer than gold,

And to those who knew him and loved him

His memory will never grow cold”

(Anonymous)