Kenneth Carter Buckley

The "very good" life of Kenneth Carter Buckley concluded peacefully in the evening of 03 October 2025 in Huntington Beach, California. He was ninety-five years old.

On 18 February 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, after nearly a year of searching, Clyde Tombaugh discovered what would come to be known as the planet Pluto. But for our family, an even more momentous event occurred on that very day across the Atlantic Ocean in Blackpool, England. It was on 18 February 1930 that Percy and Annie (nee Carter) Buckley welcomed their son Kenneth into the world. He was to be their much loved only child.

Kenneth grew up in the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. He was nine years old when World War II descended upon Europe. War time for young Kenneth meant that his school day was cut in half. He attended class in the morning session along with the rest of the local kids while the afternoon session was set aside for the children of evacuees who had been relocated to the relative safety of Blackpool from such English cities as London and Manchester that were more frequent bombing targets of the German Luftwaffe. Kenneth diligently carried the gas mask he had been issued to and from school each day. And, of course, WWII meant that rationing became a way of life that would continue for several years after the war's conclusion. Dad recalled stories of blacking out the windows of the house at night, of his mother gripping the table in terror as they listened to a bomb fall and hit a nearby target, and he described seeing the distant explosions of bombs falling on Liverpool as he watched from the back room of his home.

It was in Blackpool that Kenneth received his early education. He attended Roseacre Primary School, Highfield Road Secondary Modern and Blackpool Technical College School of Art where he developed his skill as a technical illustrator. When Kenneth's education was complete (he was sixteen), he was recruited by and went to work for an outfit called Haldon-Thompson where he helped design patterns and layouts for flooring. Kenneth's employer had his National Service (compulsory military service) deferred until he was twenty-one. In March of 1951, Kenneth joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was posted to Bovington Camp in Dorset. At this time the United Kingdom was involved in the Korean War. Kenneth's name came up on orders to go to Korea but when an officer learned of Kenneth's "skill" at playing rugby, his name was removed from the list of men to be posted overseas. Kenneth played rugby for the Medical Corps until the end of February 1953 when his National Service was complete.

Dad was a lifelong supporter of Blackpool Football Club. He attended games at Bloomfield Road as a child with his father. In 1953 Kenneth and his cousin Alfred were in attendance at Wembley Stadium in London to see Blackpool F.C. defeat Bolton Wanderers and win the F.A. Cup. The new young Queen Elizabeth II, who had not yet had her coronation, was there to present the winners with their trophy. It was around this time that Kenneth got a job "working a drawing board" at English Electric. One of Kenneth's childhood friends was already employed at English Electric and Kenneth would befriend several other colleagues who were to remain lifelong friends of his. At this time many young Englishmen and women looking for a bit of adventure began seeking work overseas. In 1957 Kenneth accepted a job as an illustrator for a year with an aircraft company in Winnipeg, Canada. Two of his friends from English Electric had gotten jobs in Toronto and Kenneth, not realizing how much larger Canada is than England, mistakenly thought that he would be able to regularly visit his friends in Toronto from Winnipeg. Kenneth very nearly traveled on from Canada to Australia and New Zealand with a friend but instead, he accepted a job offer with the Canadian government working as a civil servant for the Canadian Air Force in Ottawa, a job he ultimately left after only three months. Upon returning to England, Kenneth ran into a lad from Blackpool whom he had befriended while working in Winnipeg. Together they hit on the idea of getting visas to the United States. The two young men set sail for New York in late summer of 1959. From there, they caught a train to Los Angeles as they had heard that there were lots of jobs in aerospace in California. Kenneth's first job in California was doing technical illustrations of refrigeration units but by 1960 he had gotten a security clearance and took a job as an illustrator for aerospace technical publications in San Diego.

Kenneth had told his mum that he only planned to be in the U.S. for six months but life changed those plans. One year became two and Kenneth's fate was sealed when in 1962 he applied for and got a job at Stromberg-Carlson, a division of General Dynamics in El Segundo, CA. It was there that he met the pretty receptionist, Inez Colvin. Kenneth and Inez were married on 20 April 1963 in Redondo Beach. The couple's family soon grew with the addition of two daughters, Pamela and Andrea.

Although he always felt like a bit of an outsider, Kenneth remained in the United States. He accepted a job at Northrop Corporation where he would work for twenty-five years on many different aircraft, most notably, the B-2 Stealth Bomber. The Buckley's purchased a brand new house in Huntington Beach in 1972 where Ken and Inez raised their family.

Dad was the best. He was kind, dependable, loyal, even tempered and possessed a subtle, gentle, Yorkshire humor. He was the most loving and caring husband, father and grandfather that one could hope for. You may have been able to take the man out of England but you could not take England out of the man. My father always drank tea, always. We grew up with an appreciation of Monty Python's Flying Circus, English football, Cadbury chocolate, Yorkshire pudding and a good plate of fish and chips. Although Dad was not a monarchist, even he saw the appeal of the pomp and ceremony as his wife and daughters watched every royal wedding and funeral. Dad was a runner, he played tennis, learned to sail and was even a member of a lawn bowling club. Dad coached my sister's soccer teams and was an AYSO referee for several years. Dad's interest in researching his family history would morph into my obsession with genealogy. Dad was fortunate enough to be able to travel in his beloved England with every member of his American family. Dad loved to travel. As a younger man and later with Mom after they married, Dad traveled throughout Western Europe. In retirement he was able to travel the world visiting many far flung locales including: Japan, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Fiji and New Zealand. Dad possessed an intellectual curiosity. He appreciated the arts and was a life long learner who greatly valued education. While working and raising a young family, Dad attended night school at El Camino College. He then earned a BA in History at Cal State Long Beach and an MBA at Redlands University. After retiring, he took several painting and fine art classes, in addition to attending lectures and regularly enrolling in classes through the OLLI program at CSULB. Dad was unimaginably proud to see both of his grandsons enrolled in college and was fortunate enough to see his oldest grandson receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA this summer.

Kenneth Buckley was preceded in death by his parents Percy and Annie Buckley, an infant brother Brian, several much-loved aunties and cousins and his son-in-law Graham.

Kenneth is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-two years Inez, his cherished daughters Pamela and Andrea, his dear son-in-law Billy, as well as his two adored grandsons Carter and Tanner.

Dad lived a good long life. He even outlived Pluto's status as a planet. Ta-ra, Dad. Well done!