Born in Margaretville, NY on September 19, 1939, he was the son of Frank & Eleanor (Cole) DeSilva.
Ken grew up in Margaretville, NY (located in the Catskills) and attended Margaretville Central School. He later earned his General Education Diploma (GED) by taking classes in Binghamton, NY.
For many years, Ken resided in Walton, NY and on September 13, 1958 married the former Joan LaPorte. Together they raised their four children, David, Karson, Gordon & Dean. While living in Walton, Ken was employed at Del-Met Corporation and also owned & operated Montgomery-Ward Store.
Throughout the years, Ken also resided in Binghamton where he was employed at Stowe Manufacturing and also lived in Elmira Heights where he worked at Upstate Tool Company. He later resided in Corning where he owned & operated a Woodmizer Saw business. He has resided in the Hornell area since 2015.
He was baptized and attended Buena Vista Wesleyan Church. Ken was a true outdoorsman and an avid hunter. He enjoyed fishing and hunting big game, such as elk, moose, deer, bear and caribou. He has hunted in many locations, including Montana & Quebec Canada. Throughout the years, Ken took great pride working on & maintaining his properties and had even built his own pond on Brown Hollow Road in Corning. In his “spare time”, Ken enjoyed watching football.
He was preceded in death by 2 brothers, Donald DeSilva and Robert DeSilva; 1 sister, Marilyn DeSilva.
Ken was married on September 19, 2009 to the former Denise Collins who survives. Also surviving are 3 sons, David (Mary Kaye) DeSilva of Howard, NY, Gordon (Kelly) DeSilva of Vallejo, CA and Dean (Jill) DeSilva of Deer Lodge, MT; 1 daughter, Karson James of Walton, NY; 1 brother, Ronald DeSilva of Margaretville, NY; 2 step-sons, Jared (Shannon) Billings of Wellsville and Tyler Billings of Hornell; 16 grandchildren, Matthew (Tanya) DeSilva, Zach DeSilva, Steven DeSilva, Mannon (Jordi) Loucks, Rachel James, Orrin James, Tyrell (Dacy) Deserve, Levi DeSilva, Joshua DeSilva, Logan DeSilva, Hannah DeSilva, Allison DeSilva, Lindsey (Jerell) Andall, Jamie Morgan, Jackie Morgan and Lonie Morgan; 8 great-grandchildren; several nieces & nephews. At Ken’s request there will be no calling hours. Family & friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at the Buena Vista Wesleyan Church at a date & time to be announced. Final interment will be on the family plot in Margaretville Cemetery in Margaretville, NY.
Funeral arrangements are in care of the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, NY.
Ken’s family request that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 435 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14620. To leave an online condolence or share a memory, visit www.dagonfuneralhome.com.
