Kenneth Roy Trigger

Kenneth Roy Trigger died Feb. 19, two weeks before his 93rd birthday.

Trigger was born in Chicago in 1924, moving to northern California once he graduated high school. During his military service, Trigger met Esther Meshul at the Hollywood USO. After the war, they were married and moved to Palo Alto where Trigger pursued a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University. He worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for many years, as well as a two-year project at the Stanford Linear Accelerator.

In 1956, Trigger and his wife were among the nine founding families of Temple Beth Emek, the first Jewish synagogue in the Livermore Valley.

When he retired, the pair moved to Walnut Creek where they lived for 20 years. There the couple won many local bridge tournaments; mastered the art of the road trip adventure; and nurtured a warm, loving home for their family and community. In 2014, they embarked on a new adventure, selling their home and moving to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lived for nine months until his wife’s sudden death. Trigger then decided to return to San Francisco to be closer to his family.

Trigger is predeceased by his wife, Esther, and his son, Victor.

He is survived by his children: Minette (and Isac) Gutfreund, Suzette Trigger (widow of Victor), Jeff (and Kathy Steele) Trigger and Jack (and Jenny) Trigger; eight grandchildren: Zevi and Mia Gutfreund, Kaitlyn (and Mike) Krieger, Coralee and Shannon Trigger, Matt, Kenton and Cole Trigger; and two great-grandchildren: Carter Trigger and Milo Gutfreund.

A private family memorial will be held later.