Obituary of Dustin M. Keniston

Dustin M. Keniston was born and raised in Long Beach CA. I can hear him telling me don't forget the MacGill...lol. He liked to tell folks his birthday was 12341 in his last years and seemed to enjoy watch them trying to figure out if it was Dec 3rd or Jan 23rd, it was the latter. He was a bit of prankster right up to his last days, pulling one on us and then fist bumping us as if to say “I got you, good!” He is predeceased by his parents, Earl V. and Florence M. ( Harris) Keniston, his grandparents, Alice (Levoy) and Stanley D. Nelson, his dear sister Deborah Ann Keniston and his beloved wife Marilynn. He is survived by many loved family members, encompassing 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, all spread out throughout various states from coast to coast. One of his greatest sources of joy and where his happiest memories sprang from were of his grandchildren and his great grand grandchildren. He was blessed to have many dear friends over his 80 years and believe he blessed their lives equally, he called them often.. He scooted around on his candy apple red scooter everywhere for the last two years, and when he first visited a friend's home here in Oregon, he planned from day one how he was going to get there one day. He accomplished his goal in the summer of 2020 when he decided to go for it as life is short and it was time. He was, of course, beaming with pride, that he had figured it out on his own. He was a keen observer and studied routes all his life as a truck driver. At the end of his life he also remembered nearly address where he ever lived prior to his stroke, a feat not many of us could ever do. He'd always ask me how far things were, I answered in time and he said. “We measure distance as miles, I need mileage.' He could back up that scooter of his in like a railroad man and in the tightest of places too. Dusty was a great conversationalist, loved to tell stories of his childhood and teen years, he recalled every car he ever had or drove, and certainly every job he had from age 10 helping the milk in exchange for chocolate milk and donuts, and these were central through his life! I take it comfort foods for him. He worked primarily as truck driver, for 49.5 years logging in many decades or miles with Superior Ready Mix down in Southern California, where he worked until his stroke at 74; but in the early years, he delivered newspapers, soldered tin cans, washed dishes in a restaurant. He also put up fences and shoveled snow in Big Bear and learned to repair televisions there as a young adult. Dusty always loved baseball, in particular watching Dodgers games, and was happy to see them win the 2020 World Series. GO BLUE! Riding his Harley Davidson, going off roading in his Jeep Rubicon during his time off on Saturdays once he hit 65, were two of his other his passions in later years, he loved the open road. He loved living near Lake Tahoe and Carson City area after his stroke, no doubt because of the natural beauty there and his ability to just take off and explore and continued his love for the country and exploration here. He enjoyed listening to Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, he liked the Oregon Coast, he visited quite a few places like Astoria, Newport and lastly Seaside, Oregon where he discovered the joy cruising the promenade there on his scooter. He took his last scooter ride to heaven sneaking out before dawn on Mar 9, 2021. A special thanks to the staff at Care Partners and to his friends at Our Place, for keeping in touch with him during the pandemic and delivering strawberry ice cream to him, especially to Candace who went the extra mile and opened up her home to became his caregiver, in the last six weeks of his life.