"Before laws required schools to open classrooms to those with special needs, S. Kermit Koontz was lobbying for the children.
He was instrumental in starting the first special-education programs in Fresno County, including one that was held in a church in Biola.
Mr. Koontz, 94, died in his Fresno home Saturday after having a heart attack and a stroke last month.
His son, Dan Koontz of Clovis, said one of the happiest days of his dad’s life was in November, when Kermit Koontz Educational Complex opened on Mariposa Street. “He had more joy watching those kids who were there,” Dan Koontz said. “It was the completion of his career.”
Mr. Koontz was hired at the Fresno County Office of Education 60 years ago to be health coordinator. He was appointed special education director in 1963 and named administrator of special education in Central California in 1968."
He was instrumental in starting the first special-education programs in Fresno County, including one that was held in a church in Biola.
Mr. Koontz, 94, died in his Fresno home Saturday after having a heart attack and a stroke last month.
His son, Dan Koontz of Clovis, said one of the happiest days of his dad’s life was in November, when Kermit Koontz Educational Complex opened on Mariposa Street. “He had more joy watching those kids who were there,” Dan Koontz said. “It was the completion of his career.”Mr. Koontz was hired at the Fresno County Office of Education 60 years ago to be health coordinator. He was appointed special education director in 1963 and named administrator of special education in Central California in 1968."