Ken Schmid

Kenerson (Ken) Schmid, 92, was born on April 09, 1933 in South Gate, CA and passed away in Long Beach on May 28, 2025. Ken was preceded in death by his beloved wife Joan Schmid, parents Robert and Elva Schmid, and brother Bob Schmid and sister-ln-law Donna Schmid. He is survived by daughter Bonnie (Schmid) Taylor, son Brian Schmid (and Cindy Rhodes), and 'honorary daughter' Dolores Sanchez, as well as his grandchildren Donnie (and Valerie) Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, Sean Taylor, Tyler Schmid (and Laura Gideon), Cody (and Krista) Schmid, Chloe Schmid, and great-grandson Luke Taylor.

Ken came of age during the post-World War II era and reveled in the world of rock and roll, hot rods, Elvis, soda shops, and ducktail haircuts. He loved regaling us with stories of those happy times, for example, racing other cars at stop lights with his brother in South Gate where they would remove the muffler caps from their rebuilt '37 Chevy and leave the other car in the dust along with the deafening sound!  He was drafted into the US Army in 1953 and proudly served in Schweinfurt, Germany. He explored much of Europe during his tour of duty and cherished those memories for the rest of his life.

Ken enjoyed a 40-year career in the dental field where he was an accomplished Dental Technician, making hundreds of patients happy with his expertise in crafting dentures, partials, and other dental appliances. He took a great deal of pride in his work and was always praised by his many patients.

In his later years, Ken and his wife Joan shared their love of sports cars by showing their prized Corvettes in car shows around Southern California where they won dozens of awards, including many 'Best in Show' trophies. He thoroughly enjoyed taking meticulous care of his Corvettes and Camaros and loved showing them off. Ken and Joan were also active members of the 'Corvettes of So Cal' car club for many years. When not showing their cars or socializing with their car club, they loved to travel the US and in particular made several trips to Maui, Hawaii where they shared many amazing experiences, including scuba diving with sea turtles and whale watching.

Arrangements are under the care of Forest Lawn, Cypress, CA.

Auf Wiedersehen...Until We Meet Again