Kenneth Roland Symonds Jr, age 88 passed on June 14, 2024, at Holbrook Independent Living in Woodstock, GA with his beloved wife, Patsy by his side.

Ken was born November 6, 1935, in Orlando, Florida to Kenneth Roland Symonds and Wilma Lee Geneva Symonds.

He spent his childhood growing up in Orlando, Florida; West Virginia; Alexandria, Virginia; and Washington, D.C.  He struggled in his childhood after losing his mother at the age of 8, leaving behind he and his 9-year-old brother, Lawrence (deceased) to very difficult circumstances which he worked very hard in his young life to overcome. After graduating from Richmond Academy in Augusta, Georgia, he enrolled in Augusta Junior college and enlisted in the active U.S. Marine Reserves in September 1954. Upon graduation, he signed up for active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps in September 1956.   After he left the Marine Corps, he completed his four-year degree from University of South Carolina in Mathematics. As a result, he remained a hardcore Gamecock fan, and cheered tremendously for every football game.

In January 1961 he accepted a job in the Engineering Research Department of Pratt and Whitney in West Palm Beach, Florida. He met his first wife, Betty Toole Symonds (deceased) at USC while she was working as the university research librarian.  They married July 30th, 1961. While in Florida, he completed his master's degree from the University of Florida School of Industrial and Systems Engineering with a heavy concentration in math and statistics.

Years passed and he continued his career as an engineer in Greenville, SC before moving to Wilmington, NC to work for General Electric as a Quality Control Engineer. During this time, he also began teaching mathematics at the Cape Fear Technical College which was a job he truly enjoyed.

In 1983, he transferred to Florence, SC to the G.E. Medical Systems division and worked in a variety of positions until 1997 when he accepted early retirement. During this time, he continued to share his love of mathematics by teaching at Florence- Darlington Technical College in the evenings. Upon retirement he was looking forward to opportunities to travel with Betty, his wife of 40 years. Unfortunately, Betty passed unexpectedly in December 2000.

While at a bereavement group, he met Patsy Rue Brown, who was also grieving the loss of her husband. Together they regrouped with love, and married January 2002. For the last 22 years, Ken and Patsy enjoyed their time together traveling around the world on river cruises, volunteering through different church groups, working with Meals on Wheels, and attending Bible studies.

Ken never gave up his love of helping students, and continued volunteering by tutoring math students. He enjoyed following the stock market and creating the most intricate "personal black book" that had well-designed graphs, numbers, and statistics that followed his daily life and routines. If you met him, he would be sure to tell you a joke, as he collected many to share to put a smile on your face.

Ken was predeceased by his mother, Wilma Connell Symonds, father Kenneth Roland Symonds, his brother, Lawrence Frederick Symonds, and his stepbrother, Dean Corbin Symonds.

He is survived by his loving wife, Patsy Symonds, his son, Jeff Symonds, daughter, Suzanne Kaser (Stephan), stepson, Jeff Huff (Renee), and stepdaughter, Angela Fister (Tony). He also leaves behind multiple grandchildren to include Christian Symonds, Steven Symonds, Hans Kaser, Katarina Kaser, Drew Parker, Dillon Parker, Spencer Parker, and Brian Huff. In recent years, he happily added two great- grandchildren, Freya and Wesley to his life who brought great joy.

Visitation will occur for family and friends at Lakeside Funeral Home in Woodstock on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, from 12-2.  Ken will be laid to rest at Crest Lawn Memorial Park, Atlanta, in a graveside service following the funeral.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Woodstock Baptist Church in Woodstock for Missions at https://www.fbcw.org/missions/ .  This goes toward helping Orphans of the War in Ukraine and was a mission that Ken supported in the past and felt strongly about helping.