Kenneth Dale “K.D./Ken” Hutchinson passed away at home in Morro Bay on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at the age of 94, surrounded by family and deeply loved. He was a San Luis Obispo County native, born June 18, 1930, to Charles and Lillie Dale (Burns) Hutchinson at the Sutton Maternity Home in Paso Robles. He was the seventh of nine siblings, including Joe, Sue, Will, Ava, Mary, Lewis (who died in infancy), Charlene, and Karen.
His earliest memories were made in the hills and one-room schoolhouses of Adelaide and Peachy Canyon, where his father managed almond and walnut orchards. As a child, he participated in 4H and was a Boy Scout and a newsboy – currently featured in an exhibit at the Camp Roberts Historical Museum honoring the young boys who sold newspapers to soldiers at the base during WWII.
After graduating from Templeton High School with the class of ’49, Ken proudly served in the US Army from 1951-1952. He completed basic training at Camp Roberts and learned to operate cranes while rebuilding bridges destroyed during the Korean War.
While on holiday from nursing school, Ken’s sister Ava brought home her classmate and best friend, Ellen June Cochran, to meet the family. Ken and Ellen June were married on September 11, 1952, in Los Angeles. To this union was born two sons and two daughters. In 1955, Ken and Ellen June moved from Paso Robles to Morro Bay. They were blessed with nearly 39 years together.
Some highlights of Ken’s 40+ year career as a crane and heavy equipment operator for both R. McGray Construction of Santa Maria and Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo were pulling down the old 13th Street bridge in Paso Robles with a D8 tractor after dynamite failed to do the job, helping to build the Morro Bay breakwater and installing the first football field lights at Morro Bay High School.
After the passing of Ken’s beloved first wife, he married his beloved second wife, Sherry Ann Edsall, in 1991. They were very active in their Morro Bay RV camping group and the Morro Bay Eagles Lodge, where they made many dear friends and traveled extensively around the country. They shared over 33 years of loving companionship.
Ken truly was a living piece of San Luis Obispo County history. There was not a bridge, road, or pier that he did not work on. From the top of Morro Rock (which he climbed at age 17) to the hills of Adelaide to the Carrisa Plains, there is hardly a place left untouched by his memory. All that knew him loved him. He was genuinely “one in a million.”
Ken was preceded in death by his parents, eight siblings, and his first wife, Ellen June. He is survived by so many who adored him. His wife, Sherry Hutchinson of Morro Bay. His four children, Ken Hutchinson II (Lucy) of Templeton, Mark Hutchinson (Pam) of Paso Robles, Kanda Kenyon (Mark) of San Miguel, and Kayce Hurd (Paul) of Arcata; Sherry’s three children, Dan Acuña of Tacoma, Greg Acuña of Castaic and Jennifer Alvarado (Rick) of Canyon Country. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren: Jenny Gonifas (Jonathan), Jody Hotze (Ryan), Jerad Hutchinson (Stephanie), Nikayla Hurd (Anthony Cashion), Jillian Paisano (Marlon), Corrie Watson (David), Beau Hurd (Michelle Iverson), Joseph Hutchinson (Jennalee), Haley Liddicote (James), Rachel Sollom (Jeremy), Alison Hutchinson, Zachary Kenyon and Amanda Romo (Frank), as well as Sherry’s eight grandchildren: Kireen Parker, Avery Acuña, Jonathan Acuña, Nathaniel Acuña, Gregory Vincent Acuña, Andres Alvarado, Christian Alvarado and Gabriel Alvarado. To these are added 28 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
A memorial service is planned for Friday, February 28, 2025, at 11 am, at the Los Osos Valley Memorial Park Chapel.
