Paying Our Respects to Ken Mulholland

On September 16, 2018, the world lost Ken Mulholland, an avid, joyful and positive rider and enthusiast of classic motorcycles. He had been a member of SoCal AMCA since the early days. Our newsletter editor Carolyn Musgrove, who along with her husband Bob, logged many, many miles with him and loved every minute.  Carolyn reached out to his family to pay her respects and share some stories. His eldest daughter, Marty, sent her his obituary, which follows:

Kenneth MacKenzie Mulholland Jr., son of Alma and Mully, was born on December 15, 1929 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, but spent his boyhood and growing years in Butte, Montana. He passed away on September 16, 2018 at 88 years of age, after living more than 60 years in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ken is survived by his daughter, Marty Mulholland, her husband, Bob Schneider, and their children, Matt and Marissa, of Bellingham, Washington; his daughter, Sarah Mulholland, of Tucson, Arizona; and his son, John Mulholland, his wife, Susan Mulholland, and their son Ryan, of Tucson, Arizona.

Ken obtained his driver’s license when he was 14 ½.  He worked in a garage during high school, and he developed a love of auto racing. After high school and some college, Ken enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and served for 4 years as an aviation machinist mate petty officer 2nd class. He worked on airplane engines as an airplane mechanic, an experience which led to his career as a customer service engineer in the aviation industry.

Ken moved to Phoenix in the late 1950s. He helped found the Arizona Sports Racing Association (ASRA).  Ken raced less once his family came along, but he always followed the sport. It was a family tradition to watch the Indianapolis 500 and to guess the winner.  His passion for cars and for antique motorcycles was evident to all who knew him. He loved tinkering around in his garage, working to repair and restore cars and his antique motorcycles. which included a Thor, an Indian, a Harley Davidson, and a BSA. Ken owned 83 cars and 15 motorcycles in his lifetime.

Family members treasure memories of Ken, including his auto-related stories, his humor, his self-sufficiency and work ethic, and his kindness and support for all.

Marty Mulholland also shares the following:

“Please know that Dad passed peacefully and after a fairly swift decline.  (He ate breakfast on Friday morning, began significant decline Friday afternoon/evening, and largely slept until he died on Sunday).  We were all with him much of the past few weeks.  Dad's wish was to be cremated and we plan to spread his ashes on a motorcycle road in Arizona.  Dad did not want a formal service but we do tentatively plan to have a very informal gathering in Phoenix -- probably Veteran's Day weekend -- to share a few stories and photos.”

If you have your own stories to share about Ken, please leave them in our comments below. Thank you.