Kenneth John Maclean Jr.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Kenneth John Maclean Jr. passed away peacefully during his sleep at Scripps Memorial in La Jolla, California, unable to recover from complications derived from hip surgery. Kenneth was born in New York City, the second of four children of a family of Scottish descent. At 18, Ken enlisted in the Army. Despite counting only with a high school education, Ken was selected to attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) and became First Lieutenant, serving in the Korean War at age 21. In September of 1950 Ken was injured due to a grenade blast, lost an eye, and after a long stay in the hospital in Japan was medically retired in 1952. Ken was awarded a Purple Heart medal in 1951. A widower since 2006, Ken met the daughter of one of his Chinese neighbors in Mira Mesa, Debbie. Ken started by asking her for information about a China trip that he wanted to take. Eventually, Ken “got tired of running,” as he liked to say, and married Debbie in April 2014. Ken never got to visit China, but as fate would like it, China did indeed come to him. Ken loved to travel, to eat out, especially Japanese food and chili dogs, play poker, and help friends and neighbors. Ken is survived by his wife Debbie, his children Clarisse, Michael, Leslee, and from previous marriages Pamela, Ronald, Jo Ann, and William II; by his grandchildren Dominick, Jeremy, Jaclyn, William III, and Zayn, and his great grandchildren Liam, Landon, Lucas, and Silas.