A longtime local business executive and community leader, Benjamin David Kuntz passed away on Sunday, Aug. 4. The Pikesville resident was 93.
A Baltimore native, Kuntz was the son of M. Henry and Elizabeth Kuntz and a 1949 graduate of Forest Park High School.
“My father was born in Hungary and came to Baltimore when he was 21 years old,” Kuntz wrote in an “Endowment Book of Life” created by the Henry Greenstein Legacy Society of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore. “He arrived here without any money or knowledge of English, and without knowing anyone. From that humble beginning he married, raised three children and sent them all to college.”
Ben Kuntz initially attended college in Arizona for a year before returning and graduating from the University of Maryland, which is where he met his future wife, Marlene.
Kuntz served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the U.S. Air Force). He was sent by the Air Corps to Waco, Texas, and flew seven days a week for two years as an instructor, logging thousands of hours in the air.
He and his wife returned to Baltimore, and Kuntz joined his family’s furniture business, American Office, which he ran with his older brother, Hugo.
While working full-time at American Office, Kuntz attended night school and graduated from the University of Baltimore Law School.
Kuntz was highly committed to Jewish causes, particularly The Associated. He served as The Associated’s president from 1995 to 1997, and in that role met with many community and world leaders and dignitaries. He also served as The Associated’s campaign chair in 1992.
“Ben was open and gracious to all, and everyone who met Ben continued to be his friend,” wrote his family in a tribute on the Sol Levinson & Bros. website.
When Kuntz stepped down at the end of his two- year term as president in 1997, Darrell D. Friedman, then The Associated’s president and CEO, told the Baltimore Sun, “Ben has reached out not only to Jews but to all people of good will. He has helped build our community, to bind us ever closer to one another, and to create lasting friendships. His tenure as chairman has truly been a labor of love.”
Kuntz attributed his passion and commitment to the welfare of the Jewish community to his father.
“My father knew how important it was to be involved in the Jewish community and served as president of the Board of Jewish Education, and was one of seven original founders of [Pikesville’s] Beth El Synagogue,” he wrote. “He also established a very successful business, and that business is operating today with his grandson as president and three other grandchildren holding major positions in the company.
“As a first-generation American, I know how truly blessed I am to have been born in this country,” Kuntz wrote. “I’m also blessed because I was born into a Jewish family that valued religious tradition as well as community involvement. I have tried to follow in the footsteps of my parents and have been most fortunate to see my children and grandchildren carrying on these same traditions.”
In his spare time, Kuntz enjoyed bowling and golf, the latter of which he played the week before his death.
“First and foremost was Ben’s love and dedication to Marlene and his entire family,” wrote the Kuntz family. “He loved the visits at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, Florida, from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ben always had the biggest smile when talking about his family, of which he was so proud.”
Kuntz is survived by his loving wife of 72 years, Marlene Kuntz (nee Becker); his children, David (Lisa) Kuntz, Debra (Jon) Waranch, Dr. Richard (Odalis) Kuntz and Michael (Debra) Kuntz; his sister, Miriam Lowenberg; his grandchildren, Jennifer (Geoff) McDonald, Micah (Amy) Kuntz, Samantha Kuntz (Asa Kurland), Dr. Danielle Waranch (Steve Bilenky), Joshua (Ellen) Waranch, Allison (Mike) Kafka, Oliver (Caroline) Kuntz, Erin Kuntz, Taylor Kuntz and Kendall Kuntz; and 17 great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Hugo Kuntz.
Funeral services will be held at at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, on Monday Aug. 12, at 2 p.m.. Interment will be held at Beth El Memorial Park, 9801 Liberty Road in Randallstown. In mourning at Woodholme Country Club, 300 Woodholme Avenue in Pikesville, on Monday following interment with a service at 7 p.m. and Tuesday from 3-5 p.m. with a service at 7.
Contributions in Kuntz’s memory may be sent to The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, 101 W. Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, or Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, Maryland 21208
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