Obituary of Kenneth T. Kratina

Kenneth T. Kratina was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. He was raised by his parents, Rudy and Audrey Kratina. As a child, he was a Boy Scout. In early childhood, he started a paper route and continued his route through his teen years. A good work ethic was part of his DNA. He saved all the money from his route and purchased his cherished 67 GTO (also known as the goat. Driving and listening to the sounds of The Beach Boys playing on the 8-track, he was humble and proud. Ken joined the service in 1970. His family was patriotic and, even though it was open draft for Vietnam, he felt it was his obligation to join his fellow Americans and serve his country.

After his service time, he returned home and met his future wife, Shannon. Shannon came along with two young daughters, Kelly and Dannielle, who he embraced as his own. Ken and Shannon married in 1975 and Ken legally adopted his daughters. The first son, Jeremy, came along in 1976, followed by Brent in 1979. Ken was a dedicated husband and an involved father, whether it be his son's baseball, family camping trips, dinner at the table every night, Thursday game night or Friday Dukes of Hazard and The Incredible Hulk episodes with his kiddos. He marched his four kids to bed every night singing, The Battle of New Orleans, followed by prayers.

Ken was a mentor who instilled work ethic and values in his children. He was a dedicated government employee for 46 years until he retired. He was a dedicated 49ers fan, some may say overboard! We say just a true fan from head to toes (literally wore 49er sneakers and 49er baseball cap every day. You could always count on him to be in his garage and drinking his beer, cheering them on or screaming at the them when they didn't follow his coaching advice. Ken was also a friend to so many, but his  closest/dearest were Alan, John and Roger. He cherished his brothers-in-law, Larry, Rob and Tracy. They kept their bar secrets secret but they always giggled when those stories were brought up. His carpool buddies from Oakley were cherished friends and coworkers.

And finally, his best f.riend as well as his brother, our Uncle Bob, who was and  will always be dad's biggest fan and Ken loved his brother so.

Between his wife, his children, his grandkids and his friends, his legacy will be shared for years to come. Such a great man taken from us too soon.

Love,

Shannon, Kelly, Dannielle, Jeremy and Brent