Kenneth Walter Skonie

Kenneth (Ken) Walter Skonie, 80, of Paso Robles died suddenly on May 8, 2025, surrounded by his wife Cynthia (Cindy) and his loving family at Twin Cities Hospital.

Ken was proud of being from Wisconsin. He was born in Milwaukee and grew up there with his parents and four siblings. He lived there until joining the U.S. Air Force.

Ken received wonderful, loving and compassionate care from the professional staff in the more than 2 years he was at Vineyard Hills Health Center. Ken never lost his great sense of humor despite his numerous health challenges. The staff at Vineyard Hills loved Ken and his deep sense of humor.

Cindy, his devoted wife of almost 53 years, visited Ken almost daily, checking on him, bringing him his favorite Starbucks drink and snacks & they both loved their precious time together.

Ken was a proud U.S. veteran, having served in the Air Force for 4 years and was stationed in Japan. He was a “Radar Information Technician.” He earned numerous medals including Air Force Good Conduct Medal, Air Force Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award and Small Arms Marksmanship Medal.

Ken was a man of deep faith, an almost lifelong Catholic, who loved his family. Ken was a deeply spiritual man and inquisitive. At one brief point, Ken was intrigued & embraced Buddhist principles including attending a Buddhist retreat in Big Sur accompanied by his close sister Valerie Skonie.

Big Sur & Yosemite were among his favorite camping/cabin spots. He enjoyed hiking & treasured the whole camping experience. Years ago, he used to drive his old reliable “Big Orange,” a bright, old orange van. He and Cindy enjoyed having a mini-motor home for a while.

Ken was always a high-tech guru who had a special talent and love of computers. He embraced high tech gadgetry of all kinds. He loved to help family by working on their computer problems. He loved all things that were state-of-the-art technology, whether it was binoculars, computers or TVs.

Faith, family, & friendships best describe what Ken loved about life. When Ken worked in San Luis Obispo, he was such a devout Catholic he stopped daily and visited and attended the San Luis Obispo Mission.

Over the years, Ken always enjoyed precious time surrounded by family, at holiday time, or sitting around a firepit, a campfire, a living room sofa or a patio. He enjoyed a cold beer or good glass of red wine, and a great meal shared with family!

Before suffering two strokes, Ken was known to really enjoy sitting and relaxing in a hot tub. The hotter the better for Ken, it was never too hot! He loved watching great movies at home with family, the volume always turned up super loud and a huge bowl of popcorn perched in his lap. Extra butter please.

Ken was such a cat lover and so handy, he once built a beautiful “catio,” an enclosed, secure outdoor area on his Morro Bay patio place, where his cats could safely be outside but in no danger of running away or from critters.

Ken was a successful Sparkletts Water delivery driver for many years in Southern California. He was promoted into management for a time; however, he returned to his position as delivery driver. He loved being out in the field and meeting/helping his customers.

Ken and Cindy moved their family to Los Osos from Newhall in 1986, after they purchased and owned a small, beloved Italian restaurant they named Skonie’s Italian Restaurant. Ken always said he wanted to be his own boss. He met the owner of the previous restaurant on a camping trip & later bought the restaurant from him.

Skonie’s served the most delicious pizzas and calzones; Ken and Cindy were ahead of their time, baking their pizzas in a brick oven. Skonie’s had a loyal, beloved following. There was a small bar area where Ken tended court and served customers beers and wine, while also helping run the restaurant. Ken’s personality shined at Skonie’s where he treated all his customers like kings. Ken was always an extremely hard worker, and together, he and Cindy poured their hearts and souls into their restaurant.

Ken & Cindy for many years were the successful managers of the Embarcadero Inn in Morro Bay. They managed their employees with fairness and dignity & provided great customer-service to their loyal guests. Ken even set up a bird watching room at the Inn to attract bird-watching guests with their close view of the Morro Bay Harbor and nearby Morro Bay Rock.

Ken became a courier driver for Sierra Vista and later, became an IT (information technology) specialist there. He was part of a small, dedicated team, helping doctors, nurses and other staff at the hospital with all their computer issues. He also ensured all the medical and surgical equipment that relied on computers was always running or fixed properly very quickly. Ken took his job very seriously & was well suited to it with his love of computers.

Besides Los Osos, Ken and Cindy also lived in Torrance, Newhall, Vacaville, Morro Bay, Atascadero and Paso Robles.

Ken loved to hike, loved staying in Yosemite and really enjoyed such things as beautiful-sounding wind chimes & distinctive bird feeders. In fact, while staying at Vineyard Hills, his family placed a bird feeder outside his window and Ken enjoyed watching the daily visits by all the beautiful birds. His devoted daughter Christie and her husband Ron would always fill up the bird feeders on their many visits.

Ken loved all things nature and all animals. He loved bird watching. He set up a deer feeder on his Atascadero home acreage in the woods so he could watch the deer as they fed.

Ken had a uniquely special relationship with each of his three daughters, his three sons-in-law & his grandchildren.

He had a love of the astronomy that he shared with his grandchildren. Many grandchildren were introduced to his love of astronomy when he got them their first telescopes & taught them the simple, beautiful pleasure of watching the stars, the moon and the planets.

Ken is preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Dolores Skonie, and on older brother, Warren (Butch) Shonie. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia (Cindy), daughters Laurie Blizzard (Jeff), Christie Giaquinto (Ron) and Melissa Graham (Pete). He and Cindy were married for almost 53 years. Survived by his sisters Valerie Skonie, Mary Giemza (John) and Nancy Stevens (Mike).

He is survived by his eight grandchildren & his first great-grandchild will be born in July. His grandchildren: Kyle Blizzard and Emily Blizzard Hicks; Charlie Giaquinto and Josie Giaquinto; Madison (Maddie) Anaya, Nicholas Graham, Nathan Graham & Ashley Graham.

Cremation was handled by Kuehl-Nicolay Funeral Home in Paso Robles. Per Ken’s wishes, no formal funeral services are planned.