Kenneth L. Gouff, 86, a longtime resident of Atascadero, passed away on May 3, 2025, at home from natural causes.
Ken, a native Californian, was raised on the Central Coast. He was a successful artist and cartoonist with a terrific sense of humor and a lifelong scouter. He is remembered as a kind, hardworking man who loved his family and spent a lifetime serving others, his church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and our community.
Ken graduated from Atascadero High School in 1957 and served as student body president as well as captain of the football team. After high school, he attended Coalinga Junior College and then Lassen Junior College, after which he went to work for the U.S. Forest Service. In 1961-63, he became a smoke jumper working out of Redding and parachuted into fight forest fires all over the Western United States. During smoke jumper training, he participated in a smoke jumping demonstration for President Kennedy, after which he continued to serve in the Forest Service for another 15 years. He worked out of the Pozo and Cerro Alto Stations in San Luis Obispo County and the Ojai Station in Ventura County. He left the Forest Service after that and joined the California Highway Patrol, working in Santa Barbara and then Templeton until he retired in 1989. After retirement, he had plenty of time to devote to art, scouts, and other things he liked to do.
As an artist, his love of the outdoors and years with the Forest Service gave him an insight into capturing the details of nature. Though self-taught, he began drawing and painting in his childhood. His versatility in using a variety of media (including oils, watercolors, and pencil) made him a successful artist. His adherence to detail is a distinctive quality of all his works. He gave talks and lessons at our local schools and clubs on cartooning and drawing on a regular basis. He designed the city of Atascadero’s logo, which you can see on Atascadero’s city police cars and other places. He did program covers and logos for the Mid-State Fair and was under contract for a while with a national publisher to illustrate a line of children’s books. He designed numerous t-shirt designs over the years for the local Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs.
During his scouting career, he was a Scoutmaster for Troop 6 in Santa Barbara and Scoutmaster for Troop 176 in Atascadero twice, as well as a Cubmaster for Pack 176. He attended Wood Badge training, and in the 1990s, he served as the Los Padres Council Commissioner over all the scout units in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. In 1996, he was given the Silver Beaver Award, the highest recognition a Scout council can bestow on an adult leader. He was also presented with the Adult On My Honor Award for his years of scouting service in the church.
In the years from 2000 to 2025 Ken stayed active in scouting, worked for the Atascadero Water Company as a water conservation expert, ran a successful business manufacturing and marketing The Gopher Snake, a product which applied bait in a manner that protected pets from harm, and served as board member for the Atascadero Historical Society. In 2012, he was selected as Grand Marshal for the Atascadero Colony Days Parade. Ken enjoyed playing Santa for his church Christmas parties. He completely restored his 1930 Ford Model A pickup truck and 1930 Ford Model A coupe from scratch and enjoyed working with his friends on other cars at the Shade Tree Model A Shop in Atascadero. He was rarely without his loyal dog Hansel by his side.
Ken is survived by his son, Michael (Lily) Gouff of Fresno, CA, daughter Wendy Trippon of Coarsegold, CA, son Jerry (Collette) Gouff of Tucson, AZ, and daughter Michele Larmay of Atascadero; grandchildren, Randi, Kalee, Robert, Richard, Alison, Dawson, Hallie, Madison, and Kaitlyn; great-grandchildren, Pete, Quyndalyn, Raylynn, Drevin, Anna, Richard, George, and Rosalie.
Memorial services will be held at 5 PM, Thursday, May 22, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2600 Ramona Road, Atascadero.
