Kenneth James Ness

Kenneth James Ness was born on October 2, 1942 in Oakland, California and passed away suddenly on January 17, 2023 in Foster City, CA. He was 80 years old.

The older of two boys born to James and Bernice Ness, Ken grew up in the Bay Area and, besides a brief stint in the Illinois, spent his entire life there. He attended Castlemont High School in Oakland, and subsequently headed to the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a B.S. in Biology in 1964. He then went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign but transferred after one year to San Francisco State, where he graduated with a MS in Biology. Ken's love of science led him to a teaching position at Burlingame High School, where he taught AP Biology for the majority of 35 years before retiring in 2003. While at Burlingame he was involved with the Gene Connection, a program aimed at bringing knowledge from local biotechnology companies, in particular Genentech, to local high school students.

From an early age he developed a lifelong love of music and was a talented piano player, who, even late in his life could still tackle "Flight of the Bumblebee", a notoriously difficult song to play. His music interests ranged from classical to modern. He was a long-standing patron of the San Francisco Opera and was equally comfortable at a trendy nightclub. Ken loved to travel, particularly to Hawaii where he spent his 80th birthday on Waikiki. He also frequented Cabo San Lucas, and made several trips to Europe over the years, including an extended stay on a sabbatical in the 1980s.

Ken will be most remembered for his kindness and generosity. Whether it was spending the majority of his retirement taking care of his mom, traveling across California to visit his immediate and extended family, providing meals and a place to stay for friends, or going out of his way to hear a friend sing or perform, he had a big heart and gave freely of himself. He will be deeply missed.

He is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Pinkerton (Tony), of Rancho Santa Fe, CA; his brother Peter J. Ness (Marian), of Portland, OR; grandchildren Abigail and Cameron Pinkerton; his nephews Peter Ness, Jr. (Lisa), Daniel Ness and Matthew Ness.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, and he will be forever in our hearts - Love you Dad, forever and for always.