Veteran, accountant, loving father and grandfather

Kenneth E. Price, beloved father and grandfather, died peacefully on January 24, 2015 at his home in Claremont at the age of 95. 

Mr. Price was born on January 18, 1920 in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania to Albert and Ruth Biggins Price. The third of six children, he graduated from Lincoln High School in 1937, where he served as manager of the football team and was voted Best Dressed Boy and Best Boy Dancer in his class.

Drafted into the army in 1941, he served in the 11th Infantry Regiment, taking part in the 1944 Normandy Invasion and the establishment of a bridgehead at Fontainebleau, France, for which he and his company were awarded the French Croix de Guerre. He twice received a Purple Heart and was discharged with the rank of staff sergeant in 1945, after serving with the US Army of Occupation in France. 

In 1946, he married Gloria Andrus. After a year in Washington, DC, the couple moved back home to Ellwood City. Mr. Price attended Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1952 with a degree in accounting. His long career included employment with the accounting firm of Snodgrass & Co. in Beaver Falls, the US General Accounting Office in Seattle, Associated Missile Products Corp. in Pomona and Aerojet-General in Azusa and Folsom, California. He was the CFO of General Nucleonics in Pomona and President of Price-Thompson II, Inc. in Upland. He was a member of the University Club of Claremont and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Gloria, his wife of 62 years, preceded him in death, as did his sister Mae Fennick and brothers Emery Price and Paul Price. He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Kate and John Berg of Silver Spring, Maryland and Ellen and Ali Estilai of Riverside; his son Joseph Price of Claremont; and his sister and brother, Shirley Shingleton of Ellwood City and R. Gerald Price of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also leaves grandchildren Amy Berg, Adam Berg (Leslie Ann), Samira Estilai Mathieu (Bryn) and Sarah Estilai Wiebel (Mat) as well as great-grandchildren Zachary Berg, Charlotte Berg, Mitra Wiebel and Leo Wiebel.  

A celebration of Mr. Price’s life will be held at his home on Saturday, February 28. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the VNA Hospice & Palliative Care of Southern California, 150 W. First St., Ste. 270, Claremont, CA 91711.