W. Kent Johns Aug. 29, 1941 – Feb. 22, 2020 Los Gatos Not having any children or wives I decided to do my own obituary, so it will contain what I want in it.
I was born in San Jose, but my parents both lived in Los Gatos CA. My father’s family came to Los Gatos in the 1880’s and my mother in the 1930’s, so was there a long time. I lived the first few years there then we moved to Piedmont CA, Darwin CA, Long Beach CA and returned to Los Gatos in 1946. I didn’t care for Long Beach since I was mostly in the hospital with rheumatic fever and my butt looked like a pin cushion from the penicillin shots. In spite of the medical profession pronouncement that I would not live to be 9 years old I exceeded their expectations and outlived all of them too. They didn’t experience the determination of my mom, but she was awesome and the reason that I lived as long as I did.
I started working by picking prunes in the orchards here in the valley and went on to graduate from Los Gatos High School in 1960, San Jose State University (it wasn’t a university then) in 1968 and achieved a MBA degree in Marketing from Golden Gate University in San Francisco while working for McKesson Corp in the Pharmaceutical Distribution segment. I spent 33 years with McKesson retiring in 2003. 31 of those years were lots of work, but also lots of fun creating things to make the business more efficient. The job provided me the opportunity to travel. I walked on all 7 continents and enjoyed my state side travel courtesy of my employer. I also managed to screw up and had to pay for some of my own sight seeing. My photography hobby led me numerous interesting places, especially after retirement.
I was fortunate in meeting Ansel and Virginia Adams in 1970 while taking a UCSC extension course he taught. The UCSC extension classes for non-business areas were terminated in the early 2000’s. Out of that first class grew a friendship that lead to a Board of Director membership with their Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite for a decade. This left turn in life was one of unexpected pleasures, actually treasured, experiences and many friends from that turn that I’ll miss. Some I’m sure I’ll meet were I am now.
