K. Larkin; Pioneering Optometrist

Kenneth Michael Larkin was remembered this week as a pioneer in colorizing the world for those who could see only black and white and a man who believed in the “magic of sight.”

A respected Anaheim Hills optometrist, Larkin was killed in a March 8 traffic accident. Funeral services were conducted Tuesday at Los Altos United Methodist Church in Long Beach.

Larkin, 53, was a pioneer in treating colorblindness. He was one of a group of optometrists who last year developed lenses designed to help colorblind patients discern hues. He also developed drops commonly used to dilate eyes for exams, according to the California Optometric Assn.

“He was an educator for eyes,” stepdaughter Tamara Adams of Huntington Beach said Wednesday. “He believed in the magic of sight and, through them, the magic of life.”

Besides his work, about which he was passionate, Larkin had an abundance of interests: golfing, piano, photography, sightseeing. “He was always the shutterbug behind the laughter and love,” Adams said.

Larkin distinguished himself academically and professionally. He attended Southern California College of Optometry and Harvard University School of Public Health. He served on dozens of optometric boards and on a committee that was part of President Clinton’s health care reform plan. His optometry practice was in Los Alamitos.

Besides Adams and her husband, Guy Adams III of Huntington Beach, Larkin is survived by his wife, Annie; parents Kenneth Augustus Larkin and Bessie LaVern Larkin of Rossmoor; brother David Larkin of Los Alamitos; and stepchildren Andrew Moshos of Indiana and Cynthia Moshos of Texas.