Kenneth W. Anthony

Kenneth W. Anthony, 82, of Penney Farms, FL, passed away May 25, 2019.  He was born on April 15, 1937, in Boston, MA, to parents B. Kenneth and Helen (Bursaw) Anthony.  

He married Mary Van Wickle, the love of his life, the day after their graduation from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, in 1959.  He served in the United States Army Reserves and then in 1962, Ken became a Special Agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence, now known as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and served in a variety of capacities over a successful 25-year career.  Highlights of his career include living in Guam, Yokohama, Yokosuka and Okinawa Japan, serving as the first Special Agent Afloat on the USS Intrepid in Europe, the Special Agent in Charge for US Navy Counterespionage Operations, and culminating as the Director of Career Services where he was responsible for the hiring, training and transferring of all 1200 members of the NCIS Special Agent Corps.  Some of Ken's most memorable career moments are when he served on the Protective Service Details for President's Kennedy, Nixon, and Ford, as well as led security services for author James Michener on Okinawa.  He also catapulted off the deck of the USS Intrepid in a small passenger airplane numerous times to conduct criminal investigations in various European ports of call.

After retiring from NCIS, Ken worked seasonally for H&R Block which allowed him to spend summers at his second home on the Bay of Fundy in Kingsport, Nova Scotia. 

Throughout Ken's life, he served others through many volunteer organizations and had leadership roles in Cursillo, Kairos, Guardian ad Litem, and numerous church administrations.

Ken's greatest accomplishment was as a husband, father and grandfather.  Most valuable lessons learned from him as compiled by his family are:

⦁ Family is #1

⦁ Work hard, play hard

⦁ Don't put up with any nonsense

⦁ Laughter is the best medicine

⦁ Keep trying to figure it out until you do

⦁ Remember the details and be a keen observer

⦁ Tell people you love them and are proud of them

⦁ Never admit to your pranks

⦁ How to laugh without making any noise (which proves useful in church)

⦁ Love of animals

⦁ How to scare the living daylights out of someone in the dark

⦁ Never stop learning new things

⦁ Be the loudest and biggest supporter of your family

⦁ Be generous with your love

⦁ Embrace new technology and never pass up a good gadget

⦁ The longer and more drawn out the corny joke, the better

⦁ Goodnight kisses are required

⦁ Be adventurous and travel often

⦁ Serve others

⦁ How to make a joke and take one

⦁ Appreciate Gilbert and Sullivan, John Phillip Souza March Music, and the Vicar of Dibley

⦁ Never sit with your back to the door

⦁ There's a big ole' rock in the middle of the Bay of Fundy that you have to climb to be a man

⦁ Ensuring each daughter knew she was the favorite and each grandchild knew that he/she was the best

Ken moved to Penney Farms, FL, in 2012, from North Carolina and was a member of the Penney Memorial Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Elizabeth Anthony.  Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Mary V. Anthony; children, Patricia A. Mercer (Joseph), Carol A. Tringali (David) and Deborah A. Flanigan (Brian); sisters, Jean Coffman and Janet Berg (Donald) and grandchildren, William, Peter, Benjamin, Matthew, Sarah, Riley, Caroline and Brady.

 A memorial service to celebrate Ken's life will be held on July 13, 2019, at 2 p.m. at the Penney Memorial Church.

 Memorial donations may be made to Residents' Aid Fund of PRC, PO Box 555, Penney Farms, FL 32079 (Memo: In memory of Ken Anthony).