Valton Lee Kuykendall, 76, entered into rest on December 10, 2015. He was born on March 23, 1939 in Monrovia, California. He is preceded in death by his parents, Valton and Wanda Kuykendall. He leaves behind his loving wife of 53 years, Lynda Kuykendall, his sons Michael and Valton a.k.a. Andy (Debi), daughter Heidi Savage (Chris), grandchildren Lauren, Samantha, Sean, Steven and Troy, and great granddaughters McKenna and Aurora.
Val’s childhood was spent in Monrovia and Visalia, as well as Oklahoma. He attended Fresno State College where he met the love of his life, Lynda, in the band. After graduating college, Val was a row crop farmer in Visalia until he moved to Turlock in 1969 to become the music teacher at Turlock High school. After retirement in 2002, he and Lynda moved up to Angels Camp where he spent many years playing golf and enjoying life in the beautiful foothills. Val was a dedicated father and husband, who had a passion for travel. He took his family on many summer vacations in their motor home, visiting all the contiguous United States within 14 years. He and his wife also traveled to many places around the globe, with a particular love for Ireland (which they visited a number of times).
Val taught at Turlock High for 31 years. He taught band for most of those years, and also taught history. Of all his years teaching, he most enjoyed the time he spent directing the marching band. One night his marching band students showed up at his house in Halloween costumes, playing their instruments while marching through the front door. Although Val left farming to teach, one thing remained a constant in his life; the old adage, “You can take the farmer out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the farmer.” Val was very handy, always building, fixing or engineering things around the house or yard. He was a third-degree Mason. He was a gregarious individual, always ready with a joke, to share the latest restaurant he had tried, or a store where you could get a great deal. He was an avid reader, particularly about history.
No services will be held, however, a celebration of his life will be planned for the new year.
