Ken Maloney, RT 1960

Kenneth Long Maloney passed away, peacefully and in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer at his home in north Laguna on April 30, 2020. Ken was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA, to Lois and Ken Maloney Sr., and grew up in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, where his father was a Chemical Engineer with Aramco Oil.

The family traveled extensively to Europe and the Middle and Far East during the years in Arabia. He returned to the US to finish high school and graduated from Wilkes College with a BS in Chemistry. Ken graduated from Penn State University with a PhD in Fuel Science in 1971. He did post doctoral research at Princeton University and Drexel University, before moving to Laguna Beach in 1973 to work with Ultrasystems and in1975 to KVB, Inc. in Tustin, CA.

Ken started his own business, Calpenn Associates, Inc. in 1983 to continue consulting in the energy field, and has numerous patents in this specialized area. His processes have been used in industrial power facilities all over the world.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Susan Kathy Maloney, a Laguna resident, who passed away on Christmas Day 2019. Ever the scientist, his body was donated to medical research so that others might continue to learn and further the advance of understanding our world.

He is survived by his sons, Ryan and Jeffrey,(Sarah) his daughter Leigh-Erin Brown, (Steven) and his grandsons Wyatt and Nolan. The Maloney family were long time residents of Laguna, with all three children attending Laguna Beach High School.

He exhibited exceptional strength and courage during his decade plus fight with cancer, and bounced back so many times, that it was felt he would and could overcome his latest round of health challenges. True to the optimist that he was, he was planning another trip to the islands while ruminating on the processes of AC/DC electricity the day before he passed away.

He will be greatly missed by his professional colleagues, his mentors and mentees in AA, his many friends, family members and his partner and “forever fiancé” Carole Zavala.

He loved Laguna Beach and the Hawaiian Islands, where he’s most likely enjoying the rainbows, slack key guitar and the Trade Winds. He is now indeed, “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

A celebration of his extraordinary life will be held in the future.