MICHAEL VICTOR KOKIKO
Died July 13, 2016
Michael Victor Kokiko, 59, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Southfield, Mass., passed away peacefully July 13 at his home in Brooklyn after a valiant two-year battle with lung cancer, his spirit and will continuing to amuse and inspire family and friends until the very end.
Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., and raised in Goldsboro, after high school, Michael served in the United States Army.
Almost immediately after boot camp, he obtained a security clearance and was stationed in Korea.
Returning to the states, then a member of the honor guard, he turned down an offer to attend officer's school to study art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After graduating cum laude with a BFA degree in painting and sculpture, Michael moved to Brooklyn, N.Y.
While a studio assistant for several New York artists, including Vitto Acconci, he honed his carpentry skills, becoming a master carpenter.
For 20 years, he worked as a supervisor for ultra high-end residential contractors in New York City, running multi-million dollar renovations, working with such architects as Peter Pennoyer, Olsen Kundig and Steven Wang.
A craftsman, he loved his work.
In addition to being a builder, painter and sculptor, he had been an amateur bicycle racer, and continued to ride through the Berkshire County hills that he loved.
An adventurous cook, drawn especially to recipes that used every pot and knife in the kitchen, he and his wife enjoyed hosting friends for dinner.
A particular fan of folk and outsider art, when his illness prevented him from working, he took up quilting -- something he'd watched his grandmother do as a child.
He is survived by his wife, Donnaldson Brown, and their dear son, Michael Carlisle "Lyle" Kokiko; his brothers, Jim and Geoff Kokiko of Goldsboro, N.C.; his sister, Kathryn Lynn Kokiko of Raleigh, N.C.; as well as numerous cousins, nephews and nieces.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 15, 2016 1:49 PM