Kenneth Wayne Boyko

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, June 27, 1951, to Walter and Mary Jane Boyko, who in 1954 packed Ken, along with his two brothers, and moved to Fontana, California, where they would add one more son. Then in 1967 they moved once again to Anaheim, California, where Ken graduated from Valencia High School in 1969.

Ken was born with a heart murmur, which lead to his first open heart surgery at City of Hope at 8 years old. Afterward the doctors said there was a good chance he would not make it past his teens, but they did not know Ken, or his will to live. Over the years he stymied many a doctor’s prediction by courageously battling to overcome multiple valve replacement surgeries and ultimately becoming a heart transplant recipient in 2014. Simply stated, Ken was a warrior; one who fought and battled his whole life. With his determination, will to live, and sheer force of living and loving life, Ken was an inspiration to all who knew him.

Speaking of determination, from their first meeting, Ken pursued Laurie Heisser for years before they were finally married on October 10, 1988. Their first child, Dustin, was born on June 21, 1989 and three years later on November 18, 1992, their daughter, Haley, entered their lives. Ken and Laurie had a beautiful life together, supporting each other throughout their long love and marriage.

He was a successful marketing and entrepreneurial businessman who’s ideas for new products and ways to market them to consumers helped shape the Powersports industry. In 1977 he co-founded Cobra Engineering and was responsible for creating an entire new segment in the aftermarket motorcycle industry. But to Ken, his biggest success was being a loving, husband, father, and grandfather. To Ken, family was everything.

Ken is survived by his wife, Laurie Ann Boyko, his son, Dustin Wayne Boyko, his daughter, Haley Ann Boyko, and granddaughter, Collins Marie Boyko, as well as Dustin’s wife, Loren Boyko, and Haley’s husband, Nicholas Sylvester. Ken is survived by his brothers, Walter Boyko, Richard Boyko and Theodore Boyko.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ken’s name to the Adult Ahmanson Congenital Heart Disease Center at UCLA. It was at UCLA where he received the gift of life from a donor and treated with love by the many talented doctors and nurses over decades.

On October 19th 2024, the family is planning to hold a service at Our Lady Mount Carmel Church at 1441 West Balboa Boulevard in Newport Beach, at 11:00 AM. A Celebration of Life will follow the service, the site has yet to be determined.