Kenton Call

Charles Kenton Call, 45, passed away Monday, November 9, 2021 at his home in Cedar City after a courageous battle with pancreatic NET cancer.

Kenton was born September 29, 1976, in Payson, Utah, to Charles Harvey Call, Jr., and Robin Esplin Call with a reddish fuzz on the top of his head and a watchful, curious expression. He wanted to know everything about the world from the very beginning, always climbing and exploring because he wanted to see more and do more, especially in his backyard treehouse, on rockhounding excursions, and riding across the pasture on his Grandpa Call’s tractor. Family trips were a favorite and formative part of Kenton’s life as well, especially summers in Laie, Hawaii, with his extended Esplin family.
Kenton’s first word was “ball,” and he spent his childhood playing basketball, football, baseball, and tennis, often with his dad as his coach. Kenton’s love of sports continued throughout his life, and one of his great joys was coaching his kids and their teammates in soccer and basketball.
Kenton learned to read at the age of three and never stopped. As a child, he would load up his wagon with dozens of books after library story time, then repeat the process the following week. Throughout his life, Kenton had a book in his hand, a pile of books on his nightstand, and a whole list of books to recommend.

At his junior high graduation, Kenton received every academic honor offered—except the award for good behavior. He was the rare combination of a fiercely free-thinking individual who had an incredible capacity to bring people together.

Kenton was always a natural leader, which shone through in all aspects of his life. As a student body officer and editor of the school newspaper at Murray High School, as an executive officer over a national consulting team for the Forest Service, or as the organizer of a Thanksgiving dinner for a diverse collection of friends at his tiny apartment in Boston, Kenton had a powerful way of bringing people together toward a common purpose. Inclusion was always the goal, and Kenton accepted people just as they were and took genuine interest in them. He was a natural mediator who used his unique breadth of knowledge and his easy, conversational nature to benefit others throughout his life.

As a young man, Kenton served in the Ukraine, Donetsk mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After two years, a post-dysentery, shaven-headed Kenton arrived home from his mission in thick, Russian glasses and mismatched, ill-fitting clothes, having broken his glasses and donated his clothes to give back to the people he served. But the mission changed more than just Kenton’s appearance; his time in Ukraine was fundamental in forming his worldview and who he was as a person, pushing him toward a career in public service and a commitment to the greater good.

Following his mission, Kenton attended the University of Utah, where he earned degrees in political science and Russian literature and became a lifelong Ute fan. It was during this time that he met Jenny Kunz, which he described as “the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.” Jenny and Kenton were married August 4, 2001 in the St. George Temple and never tired of each other’s company, often making entire round-trips to Salt Lake City without turning on the radio because they never ran out of things to talk about. They loved doing the simple things together, including long walks and trips to the grocery store.

But life had no shortage of grand adventures, largely thanks to Kenton’s love of travel and ability to plan incredible trips to everywhere from his beloved Hawaii to Mexico to Chicago to Prague. As a young man, he backpacked through Europe and spent a semester in Jerusalem, writing poetry all along the way. But his favorite trips were those he took with his family, always wide-eyed with wonder in pursuit of new cultures and ideas, breathtaking vistas, or the world’s best Dole whip.
When he graduated with a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University as a Presidential Management Fellow with limitless career options, Jenny asked whether a life in Cedar City would be enough for Kenton. He said, “I just want to be home at night. I don’t want to work sixty hours a week. I want to sit on the porch swing and read to the kids.”

And that’s what he did. When he began working from home in his new remote position with the Forest Service in 2014, he ate lunch with his kids every day, devoted additional time to coaching and carpooling, and became an expert in LEGO construction and design, even in the face of increasing health challenges. He could frequently be heard singing to his kids, often Beatles songs and sometimes in Russian. He was so proud to watch his kids excel in academics, athletics, and the arts, but was even more proud of their character and compassion. He truly loved every stage of their lives that he got to spend with them.

All his life, Kenton was abundantly generous with his time, his wisdom, and his love. He knew what he wanted and built a life filled with the things that were truly important to him: adventure and the everyday, great books and selfless service, fulfilling work and boundless play, travel and a true sense of home, and above all, faith and family.

Kenton’s family wishes to thank all who cared for him during his illness, including Dr. Ryan Wilcox, Dr. Ryan Workman, Dr. Mark Lewis, the Cedar City Cancer Center nurses, and countless medical professionals.

Kenton is survived by his wife Jenny (Kunz) Call; their children Elsie, Adelaide, Norah, and Theodore; his parents Charles H. Call, Jr., and Robin Esplin; siblings Kim (Roger) Fuller, Kenyra (Mark) Walsh, Kaleb (Maria) Call; his grandmother Jane Call, and countless friends and relatives.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 4 at 1:00 pm in the Fiddlers Canyon Chapel at 638 East Canyon Center Drive. Friends may visit call at the Church on Friday evening from 6-8 pm and Saturday at the Fiddlers Canyon Chapel from 11-12:30 pm one hour prior to the services. Interment will be at the Cedar City Cemetery. Online Condolences can be made at mortuary.org. An account has been set up for the family at Zion’s Bank.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Neuroendocrine Cancer Research at https://netrf.org/get-involved/give-now/