Leslie (Les) Dayka was born on August 27, 1946 in Vitka, Hungary. He passed away at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California on September 4, 2020.
He came to New York with his mother, Ethel Toth, when he was two years old. Ethel married William Dayka in 1951, and the family moved to Pasadena in 1953. In 1964, the family made their final move to Santa Barbara.
Les graduated from San Marcos High School in 1964, then attended Santa Barbara City College before enlisting in the US Navy in 1965 during the Vietnam War. He served active duty for 2 years as a corpsman on a ship in Vietnam, before earning the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal and being honorably discharged in 1967. Les was married to Susan Powell from 1971 to 1986.
Les achieved many things during his lifetime. He worked for Southern California Edison, owned and operated the Cielo Store in Santa Barbara, owned Santa Barbara Clothing Company, co-owned Rocky’s Bar with his best friend Reggie Drew, and worked at the Santa Barbara Trolley Company managing the trolley and work schedules before retiring in 2018.
In his younger years, Les enjoyed surfing. More recently, Les enjoyed traveling to Cabo San Lucas whenever possible and meeting up with friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William & Ethel Dayka. He is survived by his brothers, Steve (Donna) Dayka, John (Vicki) Dayka, and Bill (Cherie) Dayka, as well as his nieces and nephews, Nickolas, Matthew, Jonathan, Kaitlyn, Karina, and Kameron Dayka.
No services are planned.
