Kenneth Lee Atkinson

Kenneth Lee Atkinson died April 23, 2011 in Fukui, Japan after a six year battle with lung cancer. He was 44 years old. He is survived by his wife, Miwako Tanaka Atkinson and their two young children, Hiro and Hannah.

Ken was born in Portland, Oregon on August 25, 1966. His family moved to Santa Cruz when he was a child.

Ken attended Happy Valley School, Highfields Farm School, Mission Hill Jr. High and Santa Cruz High School. Ken's family instilled in him the joy of travel. He spent a year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, France before graduating from Reed College with a degree in French Literature.

After college Ken returned to Santa Cruz to manage the Sash Mill Cinema, but soon moved to France full time to study the culinary arts. Ken loved to cook. During the 1990's he focused his talents in the kitchens of Val d'Isère, a ski resort in the Rhone-Alpes, at La Varenne, a French cooking school in a Chateau outside Paris dating from the 17th century and at the Cordon Bleu cooking academy in Paris.

At the Cordon Bleu he met his wife, Miwako. In 2004, they married in Hawaii and moved to Fukui, Japan. It was there that Ken was diagnosed with lung cancer. Ken received excellent medical care in Fukui. Even as the cancer advanced, he didn't let it slow him down. Ken taught English as a second language TESL at the National University of Fukui [Fukui Daigaku]. In addition, he opened his own private English Language School. He was beloved by many of his students.

In March of this year Ken brought his family from Japan to visit many of his friends and family in Santa Cruz at great personal sacrifice to his health. During this time, many precious memories were made and his son Hiro attended Happy Valley School kindergarten with one of the same teachers Ken had.

Besides spending time with his family, Ken enjoyed camping, tennis, skiing, biking, body-surfing, traveling, even the occasional sky dive. In addition to his wife and two children, Ken is survived by his mother, Nancy Raney; his step parents, William Raney and Laurine Sgambati; his two sisters, Julia Atkinson [Joel] of Redwood City and Laura Atkinson of Los Angeles; his two brothers Kevin Atkinson [Susan] of Los Angeles, and Zachary Raney [Athena] of San Diego; his nephew Isaac and two nieces, Aubrey and Brianna. In Japan he leaves behind his father and mother in-law, Hiromasa and Hideko Tanaka, plus an abundance of friends there and all over the world. Ken was preceded in death by his father, Vernon Atkinson.

Ken is and will be forever missed. Two ceremonies were held in Fukui to honor his life by his wife, children and Japanese relatives. A private memorial in Santa Cruz is scheduled for late August.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the Happy Valley School Endowment Fund at 3125 Branciforte Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95065. 831-429-1456.