Kenneth (Ken) Jon Crockett, 64 years old, passed away at his home with his loving wife, Denise, by his side. His favorite word was "perseverance". That was the way he lived his life and he faced his 20-month battle with cancer exactly the same way. He persevered through appointments, surgeries and treatments, with his biggest supporter and "rock" by his side, his wife, so he could squeeze the most amount of joy with family and friends into that last bit of time he was given.

Ken grew up in Fresno, California – raisin capital of the world – along with his brother and two sisters on a 2-acre orange grove with his Mom and Stepdad. Playing outside in the dirt, swimming in pools and irrigation ditches, riding bikes, climbing trees, going camping and backpacking were a big part of his younger years. He was an athlete during his high school years and excelled at the high-jump in track and field. Having a Dad and Stepmom in South Lake Tahoe meant many an excursion on the lake in the boat, fishing and water-skiing. Riding the Honda 90's in the hills surrounding their Lake Tahoe home was quite the adventure and driving Dad's restored 1945 Jeep in the mountains gave all the kids and grandkids lots of great memories.

After graduating from Roosevelt High School, Ken joined the Navy in 1976. During his military career he served on two aircraft carriers, the USS Coral Sea and the USS Enterprise. In October of 1979, while aboard the USS Coral Sea, Ken was given a special commendation for saving the life of a shipmate by preventing him from walking into a turning E-2B prop. In July of 1978, while aboard the USS Enterprise, he was initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of Shellbacks (crossing the Equator in the Indian Ocean). He traveled around the World while serving and some of his favorite places he was able to visit were the Philippines, Australia and Thailand.

After his Honorable Discharge from the Navy, Ken attended California State University, Fresno achieving his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism – News Editorial. Always an avid writer, Ken kept journals throughout his lifetime, but his career trajectory took him in another direction after getting his degree. After graduating from CSUF, he decided to take a motorcycle journey across the United States and ended up in Michigan where he worked in surveying with a college buddy, Todd Hesketh, for almost two years. Realizing how much he missed his hometown, family and friends, Ken returned to Fresno in 1986 where he met the love of his life, Denise, thanks to his "little sister" Karen helping him find a job.

In 1988, he began a temp job with UpRight in Selma, CA that turned into a permanent 10 year position thanks to his boss, mentor and friend, Lyle Nelson. He learned so many things from Lyle: from maintenance to electrical to mechanical and he even became the Hazmat manager while he was at UR. He discovered during his time at UpRight that enjoyed fixing things and working with his hands -- whether it be plumbing, electrical, carpentry or mechanical. He not only did these things well, but enjoyed teaching them to anyone who was willing to learn.

Ken and Denise married in 1989 and lived in Fresno/Clovis, California. Their son, Thomas, was born in May of 1993 and their daughter, Rachel, was born in February of 1995. One of his greatest joys in his life was becoming a Dad. He loved playing with his children and never missed a game, play or concert that they were a part of. Ken, Denise and the children enjoyed many travel vacations throughout the Western US (Four Corners, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and many more) and even went to Washington DC, Baltimore, MD and Gettysburg, PA, sharing and learning about US history along the way. He was always finding creative ways to entertain Thomas and Rachel, from making up wonderful stories like how elephants got their trunks, how Dodos became extinct and even one called Thomas the Pine Tree to doing Christmas and birthday scavenger hunts, climbing the "Crockett Outcropping" and making up silly songs and dances, just to make them laugh. He always videotaped all of their escapades at home, on vacations, at family gatherings and just having fun.

In 1996 during a visit with his youngest sister Karen and her family in Anacortes, Washington, he was bitten by the "pizza bug" at their Pizza Factory. The opportunity presented itself for him to become an entrepreneur, franchise owner and "pizza man" at the Burlington Pizza Factory in 1998, so he and his family transplanted to the Evergreen State and became part of the Pizza Factory family. From 1998 to 2018 Ken and Denise owned the Burlington Pizza Factory. During the 20 years they operated the restaurant they not only served awesome pizza but also supported many youth sports teams, group fundraisers and causes that helped so many people in the community and beyond. They gave many young people their first jobs, including their own two children, Thomas and Rachel, and taught them good work ethic to create a foundation for successful futures.

Ken and Denise sold their Pizza Factory and retired in 2018. They traveled as much as they could in the past five years, including a special trip to Arkansas for son Thomas's wedding in 2022. They became Snowbirds in 2019, spending the winter months split between visiting family and friends in California (Fresno area) and enjoying the sunshine and sites in Arizona, especially favorite spots like Quartzsite and Bouse (his "happy spot" offgrid), exploring ghost towns and hieroglyphs, mining caves and old caverns, and going to some of the tourist spots like Tombstone, Yuma, Tucson and a lovely little town called Ajo.

Ken was an avid fisherman. During the beautiful Pacific Northwest Summers and Falls, you could find him out in the Puget Sound on his boat Happy Hook'r. He loved to fish for salmon, and catch crab and shrimp. Friends and family were always welcome on the boat, though he didn't mind floating on the water contemplating life and having conversations with God all by himself. If you joined him on the boat during shrimp season you were forced to "bite the live shrimp" to initiate you into being a true shrimper. If you were lucky, you got to do the "shrimp dance" on the boat to keep the traps full! At the end of each season, you could find the garage freezer full of all his catches and he would love to share these with family and friends.

Golfing was another life-long sport that Ken enjoyed. He got his first Hole-in-One at Airways in Fresno in July of 1991. While working at UpRight in Selma CA he put together many golf tournaments and won quite a few of them. He belonged to the Social League at Avalon Golf Links and played in many tournaments, and was the Medal Play Club Champion in 2007. He shared his love of golf with his father in law, Joel, and it became a tradition to text back and forth commentaries during the Masters.

Ken is survived by his wife of 34 years, Denise Crockett; their children, son Thomas (Megan) Crockett and daughter Rachel Pena; his sister, Karen Ray; brother, Jack Eichhorn; father-in-law, Joel Finley; sister-in-law, Deborah (Ted) Young; brother-in-law, Dana (Evelyn) Milano; nephews and nieces: Christopher (Monique) Ray; Dylan (Sydney) Ray; Shanna Milano; Zackery (Melissa) Milano; Christopher (Shannon) Young, and Aaron (Allison) Young; aunt, Lorelee Dendauw; uncle, Steve Crockett; great nieces and nephews, and many cousins and friends. He was also "Poppy" to his grandson, Calvin (Rachel), and promised he will always be his Guardian Angel. He was preceded by his parents, Donald (Sharon) Dendauw and Patricia (Henry) Doddridge; his sister, Kristi Milano Dendauw.

A Private Celebration of Life will be held at Bowman Bay. In lieu of flowers we ask that you make a donation in Ken's memory to the Skagit Regional Cancer Care Center.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7