Kevin Arthur Campbell

Kevin Arthur Campbell passed away on June 3, 2022.

Kevin was born August 19, 1972 in San Francisco, California. He grew up in Albany, California, and attended Albany Schools from Kindergarten through High School. After High School he attended Diablo Valley Community College, followed by the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

A lifelong love of computers and video games led Kevin to become a software engineer. His career started in 1995 at Lawrence Berkeley Labs and continued in 2000 at Liquid Audio, an early music streaming startup company. In December 2002, Kevin started as a software engineer for Sony. He moved to Sony PlayStation in 2013, rising quickly as an outstanding engineer and leader. Kevin’s most recent role was Vice President, Client Engineering at PlayStation.

Kevin was a truly kind person. His gentleness, sweet smile, and warm nature brought a rare light to friends, family, and co-workers alike. He never lost touch with his best friends, many of whom he had known since elementary and high school.

He was a terrific listener who showed up for his friends, and was a fierce advocate for those he mentored and coached at Sony. Kevin had a generous heart; he cared deeply for others, and showed that love in ways large and small.

Kevin was thoughtful, curious, and open-minded. He read widely and loved to learn new things, whether it was a foreign language, a new gadget, or a new technology. He recently bought a Tesla and frequently shared notes with his father, a fellow Tesla owner. He was so excited to be able to experience and take part in the early stages of the budding self driving car technology.

Kevin was an adventurer. He pursued skydiving for many years, completing hundreds of jumps. He was passionate about rock-climbing, setting goals and pushing himself to complete them. In 2003, he climbed the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a near vertical climb of 3,600 feet, over the course of 3 days. One of his favorite pastimes was to go to the climbing gym and practice bouldering and scaling vertical surfaces. Some of his ashes will be scattered at Glacier Point in Yosemite.

Kevin was an incredible husband and was the perfect partner for Natalie, his wife of twenty years. He was always up for an adventure with her. Camping, traveling, swing dancing, dressing up for any silly occasion – Kevin was never afraid of looking goofy and he loved to make other people laugh. He was an excellent provider for his family and took pride in making sure that everyone was well taken care of. Natalie and Kevin walked and danced through the world in harmony. Recently, they took multi-day hikes from Cliff House to Half Moon Bay, and from Auburn to Sacramento. Just a few days before his death, Natalie and Kevin walked 17 miles through San Francisco side by side, taking in the sights of their favorite city on earth, laughing the whole way.

Kevin was a devoted father to his eighteen year old, Milo. He felt that Milo was the best thing he had ever done in the world. He loved and supported them in everything they did. Kevin, Natalie and Milo traveled the world together, embracing new experiences, enjoying glorious scenery, sampling daring street foods, taking silly selfies and always, laughing.

Kevin struggled his entire life with depression and anxiety, although it may not have been visible to others; he was excellent at hiding his illness and trying to put others at ease. His experience made him deeply empathetic and effective in supporting others facing similar challenges. Unfortunately, Kevin reached a point where he could not see a future beyond his own terrible pain, and he decided to end his own life. We deeply miss him every day.

Kevin is survived by his beloved wife, Natalie Campbell and his child Milo Campbell, his parents Peter and Karen Campbell, his sister Julie Campbell-Kaswell, her husband Adam and two children Palmer and Torin, and many beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins from around the country.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday, August 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Road, Kensington, California. If you have memories, funny stories, shared moments, or photos you would like the family to know about, please send them to nataliehcampbell29@gmail.com. Natalie will be putting together a memory book to celebrate Kevin’s life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Girls Who Code, or Equal Justice Initiative.

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