Kenneth Harrison Guio

Kenneth Guio passed away June 9, 2018 while in the loving care of Michelle and Lyman King and family in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Ken was born in 1925 in Los Angeles, California the only child of Josephine and Harrison Guio. Ken leaves his loving wife Marlene and three children by his first wife, Cotton (wife Cynde), Susan, and Tagg (wife Nancy). His son Candon passed away in 2011. His grandchildren include Tayton Guio Lyon (husband Brent), Landa Guio Scheer (husband Grant), Ali Guio Archual (husband Paul) and Matt Guio. His one great grandson is Bailey Lyon.

In 1947 Kenneth married Margaret Subic and they raised four children. After their divorce, Ken married Marlene Olsen in 2000 and they made their retirement home in Pacific Grove, California until the last three years when they lived with Marlene’s daughter Michelle and her husband Lyman.

After his marriage to Marj, Ken took over running the ranch Alsade Limited, named after the ranch’s founders and his grandparent Al and Sadie Osterhout. Ken introduced inventions and new ways to the ranch. He bought a Piper Cub airplane to fly over cattle, ditches and fence lines. He moved cattle on motorcycles; Alsade Ltd was one of the first ranches to use tractors and haying equipment relying upon his ability to be his own mechanic; he installed a commercial scale so cattle could be sold at the ranch rather than trailed to the railroad; he explored alternative methods of putting up and feeding hay and he opened up a welding/repair shop to help neighbors fix their equipment and small engines. He was most adamant about keeping the heritage of the ranch moving on to the next generation.  

Ken started his life adventures by the age of six when he rode the train by himself from California to Wyoming to spend the summers on the ranch with his grandparents. At 17, Ken traded riding the train for a 1940 Harley Davidson and rode it to Wyoming. Shortly afterwards, he began moving cows on his motorcycle, which was cowboy heresy at the time.

In 1955 Ken begin his 30-year cross-country motorcycle racing career in California. To fund his racing career, Ken begin selling and servicing four stroke BSA motorcycles at the ranch creating Big Piney’s first motorcycle shop.

Ken started his boys riding motorcycles as soon as they were big enough to hold one up. They learned how to move cattle through sagebrush, mud, and water, which inadvertently trained them for motorcycle off road racing in Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho and Baja, Mexico. Ken befriended the racing legend Malcom Smith who helped him acquire a Husqvarna dealership in Big Piney. This new two stroke Swedish-built motorcycle was lighter and faster giving riders a leading edge. Ken used this dealership to outfit his sons into the desert racing world. The races were usually about one hundred miles long and in one case three hundred: the famed Barstow to Vegas, the biggest dirt bike race in the world. In the Barstow to Vegas race up to 1350 riders would start their bikes at the same time and ride as fast as they could over ground the riders had never seen. The roar and the adrenalin rush was off the charts.  You could identify Ken in many races as he often wore one of his many tuxedos and a bow tie over his leathers.

Over the years, Ken became a legend in the desert racing world. As the Guio family team became better and better, soon everyone in the sport knew the “Guios”. Ken’s fine sportsmanship, and humor made him well liked and admired throughout the racing circuit. To train local motorcycle riders, he built a motocross course on the ranch.

Ken’s retirement activity was golfing. When he was 77 and 78, the USGA listed him as the person who played the most golf in the United States. He averaged over 400 rounds per year, walking all the way.  Here’s part of the writeup in the Wall Street Journal:

“The USGA also tracks the person who plays the most golf. And according to the scores posted to GHIN, that person is Ken Guio.

A retired cattle rancher who now lives in Pacific Grove, Calif., Mr. Guio held that honor for 2003 and 2002 for those courses that allow year-round play. Last year, he played 400 rounds. He says he tees off at 7 a.m., plays 18, stops for a sandwich or bowl of soup, and tees off at noon for another 18. His handicap index is 18.9, according to GHIN.

"I used to be, obviously, a better golfer," Mr. Guio says. "If you get older, it kind of slips."

Mr. O'Connor says his staff called the pro shop where Mr. Guio plays to make sure the 79-year-old actually plays that much golf. "He's nonstop golf," was the reply.”

“An Open Secret, By Carrick Mollenkamp Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal, 4/19/04”

Here are some highlights of Ken’s adventures:

In the 1970’s Ken decided to try off-road car racing for a few years. The family racing team raced in big races like the Mint 400 in Las Vegas and the Baja 500 in Mexico.
He was an accomplished pilot flying both single and twin-engine planes
He loved snow skiing and snow camping. He built an early ski hill rope tow on the upper ranch.
He was a self-certified scuba diver who made under water films.  
He bought racing quarter horses, owning Cotton’s Leo, whose sire was the famous quarter horse Leo.
In the early 60’s, he was the first to take a small 24ft boat 1700 miles from Ensenada Mexico around the tip of Baja and backup to San Felipe. He took this daring feat three times without support, no modern marinas or harbors. The boat was called the Oiug.
He loved the Baja peninsula and made many trips riding his BSA to the tip of La Paz starting in 1949, before main roads and many services were in place.
The past 30 years he was an avid ball room dancer as he and Marlene out danced many younger couples.
When in SLC, one of Ken and Marlene’s favorite hangouts was the Organ Loft where they loved to dance and listen to the organ.
Here are a few of many “Kenisms” remembered by Cameron and Suzanne King:

When asked about a refill of iced tea he would answer, “no thanks, I’m driving”
When someone said “Be safe”, he would say “You can’t be safe, being safe takes the thrill out of life, you always have to be living on the edge”
When helping Marlene get in the car he would say before closing the door, “Have you got your hoofs in?”
When we helped him get out of bed in the morning we would say “take my hand” and he would start singing “Take my hand, I’m a stranger in paradise”
He would say to the aide, “honey I’m not the statue of liberty, I can only stand so long”

Besides Marlene, Ken’s constant companion was a book. He was a historian who read volumes on local and national events. Ken often got away with his pranks and teasing due to his mischievous laughter and sparkling blue eyes. He had friends where ever he went. On his last night on earth, when we said “see you later”, he answered “not if I see you first”.

Ken leaves a life fully lived…  and loved by many.