Father, husband, printer, businessman

Kenton Dale Wood, 88, died peacefully and surrounded by his loving family on January 26.

A longtime resident of Mt. Baldy, he was a prominent businessman in Claremont who was well loved and respected, his family shared.

He was born June 23, 1931 in Monrovia, California and moved frequently throughout Southern California. After graduating high school, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in graphic arts management from California State University, Los Angeles.

He was a printer by trade for more than 40 years, and spent the last 24 years in management for National Cash Register, a career he loved second to being a businessman for 42 years in and around Claremont. 

He met and married his first love, Milly, in 1951. They would go on to have a beautiful and adventurous life while raising six wonderful children who prospered under the bountiful life he provided, his family shared.

Milly died in 1976, and Mr. Wood went on to meet his second love, Joanna. After a whirlwind courtship and marriage, they shared great adventures while traveling the world. It was during this time that he would often say that he was the luckiest man in the world. After Joanna was suddenly snatched from his arms in 1996, he married his third wife, Leona, in 2005.

He was preceded in death by wives Mildred Wood and Joanna Wood; children, Michael Wood and Michael Duffy; and his sister, Jeri Visser.

He is survived by his wife, Leona; daughter Julie (Michael) Kee; stepdaughter, Susannah (Mark) Hough; sons, Mark Wood, Kenton (Merri) Wood and Scott (Marilyn) Wood; and siblings Wayne Wood, Ted Wood and Suzi Cooter.

Services will be held at noon on Thursday, February 7 at Oak Park Cemetery, 410 Sycamore Ave., Claremont.