Obituary
Kenneth Guthrie Clontz, Sr., age 71, died Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at Halifax Hospice of
Port Orange after courageously fighting an 8 month battle with cancer.
Kenneth was a life long Floridian, born August 6, 1950 at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach
and graduated from Mainland High School in 1968. Kenneth was a member of Central Baptist
Church in Daytona Beach, serving as a Deacon and on various committees throughout his life.
He was a licensed electrician, IBEW and IAM member, and worked 35 years at Kennedy Space
Center, Cape Canaveral.
Kenneth was the rare individual, who saw a problem and instead of complaining about it, found
a way to fix it. He could often be found fixing things around the church, helping church
members and community with various projects and working tirelessly at Central Baptist Church
Camp on anything and everything that needed to be mended, patched or rebuilt. In 1982, he
was instrumental in the installation of ceiling fans at Bonner Elementary in Daytona Beach,
where his children were students. Parents raised money for the fans and he along with fellow,
local electricians and volunteers, installed 60 fans throughout the school. In his tenure as an
electrician at Kennedy Space Center, Kenneth was nominated and received several awards,
including the prestigious Silver Snoopy Award in 1990. This award, given to less than one
percent of the space center’s work force each year, was created by astronauts to honor
employees who have made exemplary contributions to the success and safety of the space
program.
Throughout his life, Kenneth was extremely generous, could fix anything and helped everyone.
His greatest joy in life was his family. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Ellen Callaway
Clontz along with son, Kenneth Guthrie Clontz, Jr (wife Christina), daughter Cara Clontz
Roberds (husband Sean) and grandsons, Turner Holmes (wife Morgan), Taylor Holmes, Jackson
Clontz, Carlyle Clontz, Cole Roberds, Eli Roberds and great granddaughter Katherine Holmes.
He is also survived by his sister Anne Bishop and brother David Clontz.
Kenneth was preceded in death by his parents, Paul F. Clontz Sr. and Lorene Guthrie Clontz,
along with two brothers, Paul Jr. and Chris. A service to celebrate his life will be held Tuesday,
October 12 at 11am at Central Baptist Church, 152 Fairview Avenue, Daytona Beach, masks
required. In lieu of flowers, donations in Kenneth’s memory may be made to Halifax Hospice,
Port Orange, FL or Central Baptist Church.
My deepest condolences.