Kenneth H. Styles, 84, died Friday, March 1, 2019, at Fairfield Village Memory Care Center following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s. He leaves his wife of 66 years, Margaret (Peggy) Styles; his son, William (Bill) Styles and wife Debbie; his daughter Katherine (Kathy) Campbell and her husband Bruce; his daughter, Bonnie Booher and her husband Neal; 24 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. Born in Oakland, California, he was the son of Herbert John Styles and Regina Mae Heath Styles.
Ken spent his early childhood years growing up in Oakland before moving to Portsmouth, Virginia in his early teens. It was in Portsmouth that he met the love of his life. They met at a local soda fountain when Ken was 14 and Peggy was 13 and it was an enduring love at first sight.
After graduating from high school, Ken enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. On his first leave from the Air Force, Ken returned to Portsmouth and married Peggy. And this began an adventure-filled life.
Ken’s service in the military required him to do many things, one of which was, as an 18-year-old enlisted man, to teach much older, more mature men who outranked him. He taught at different levels of rank–both enlisted and officers. He also wrote training manuals for the subjects he was teaching.
After separating from the Air Force, Ken became quite an entrepreneur. He worked as an engineer for the city of Petaluma, California. He was always looking for ways to earn extra money to support his family–cutting trees for firewood, plowing for farmers, welding, and many other odd jobs.
He also owned several businesses – two Texaco gas stations, U-Haul trailer and truck rentals. He opened Ken Styles Truck and Auto Repair at the same time that he worked at The Emporium Department Store as the chief engineer. Ken always had a bit of wanderlust.
He was offered and accepted a teaching position with Bell Helicopter, International and he and Peggy and their daughters moved to Tehran, Iran only to be evacuated during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. After being evacuated from Iran, Ken and Peggy lived in Ensenada, Mexico for almost a year. Ken’s next venture took them to Las Vegas where he worked as a stock broker, tax consultant, and bookkeeper.
While living in Las Vegas, Ken and Peggy decided it was time for them to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They served in the Micronesia Guam mission from 1990-1991 where they served on the island of Palau for 18 months. While on their mission, they served the Chinese people who were in Palau as laborers.
After returning from their mission, Ken and Peggy decided they would like to be teachers in China. They taught English as a second language over the course of four different school years in China and thoroughly loved it. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while in China.
Ken loved learning new things. He was always studying and seeking truth and knowledge. In 1993, at the age of 58, he got his private pilot’s license.
He was a part of the Civil Air Patrol in 2002 during the Salt Lake Olympics. He taught classes for AARP as a volunteer. Ken was also a cancer survivor.
He beat Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006. Ken loved his family, loved serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and loved serving others. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 2 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No.
Fairfield Road. Friends may visit Tuesday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the mortuary. Interment, Lindquist’s Memorial Park at Layton, 1867 No.
Fairfield Road.
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