Robert Henry Kuntz

1935 - 2026

Robert Henry Kuntz, beloved husband, father, grandpa, great grandpa, teacher, friend, and long-time resident of Gilroy, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Merced, California. He was born in 1935 in Apache, Oklahoma, to Henry John and Lula Mason Kuntz.

Robert grew up on a farm between Cyril and Apache. He graduated from Cyril High School in 1952 and loved sharing tales of his time playing basketball there. Robert attended his first year of college at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee where he played basketball as well. After his first year there he followed his older brother, Elmer, to Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls, Texas. From there he transferred to what was then known as Oklahoma A & M University-now Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, where he studied Agricultural Education. While attending school there he met the love of his life, Ruby Elizabeth Wilson. They married in July 1956 and were blessed with four children: Michael (Tammie), Randy (Nancy), Angela (Brad), and Ryan (Sarabeth); as well as many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Following Robert's graduation from Oklahoma State University, he began his teaching career at Sallisaw High School in July 1957. During his time there he led students in entering a feature booth at the Muskogee State Fair. At that time Oklahoma was in a serious water shortage because of a long drought. The feature booth was a scale model of the Sallisaw Creek watershed showing examples of the reservoirs and the need for government grants to build them. The booth won first place and attracted so much interest that Oklahoma's two United States Senators were brought in to see it. The booth was later displayed in the Oklahoma State Capitol building Rotunda. Soon thereafter, Robert, Ruby, and his students made an adventurous trip to the Annual Watershed Conference in Washington, D.C. with the booth. The government grant was approved, and the reservoirs were built.

In the Spring of 1962, Robert received an invitation to join a group of selected Oklahoma farmers, agribusinessmen, and FFA teachers for a Goodwill Educational Tour of Iron Curtain countries, including Russia, Poland, and Hungary. He also spent time in Belgium, Germany, and France. Robert had many fascinating stories to tell of his trip.

In June 1964, Robert moved his family to Rosamond, California, and then to Gilroy the following year where he taught at Gilroy High School until his retirement in 2000. He became affectionately known as the "Gilroy FFA Big Boss." He cared for all of his students. Robert saw his role in teaching as helping his students to succeed in life. He was very proud of the successes of each and every one of his students.

Robert was born and raised a Southern Baptist and was a faithful believer in Jesus Christ until his death. He and Ruby joined the First Baptist Church of Gilroy in 1965, and Robert became a deacon of the church shortly thereafter. It was a role that Robert faithfully fulfilled for decades.

Following Ruby's passing in 2010, Robert was blessed to love again. He married Lorna Brownfield in 2012. She brought joy to his life and he to hers. They were married until her death in 2018. Robert was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Lula Kuntz; his wife, Ruby; his wife, Lorna; brothers, Elmer and Ted; sister-in-law, Freda; son-in-law, Brad; daughter-in-law, Nancy; and granddaughter, Heather. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 13, 2026, at First Baptist Church, 8455 Wren Avenue, in Gilroy, California. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the memorial service will start at 9:30 a.m.