Ted Kitzmiller June 8, 1946 – March 28, 2024

Provided.

Ted Kitzmiller.

Ted Kitzmiller, former owner of the Radio Shack in Tehachapi, passed away March 28 after a four year battle with cancer.

Born Robert Theodore on June 8, 1946 in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, Ted and his family moved to Fullerton, California when he was a boy. Ted met Chelley when he stole her candy bar at Sunny Hills High School. Sparks flew and they were married Sept. 21, 1963. Their son Danny was born in 1964 followed by Gina in 1967. In 1985, Ted's job transferred to Bakersfield, so the family of four moved to Tehachapi to realize their dream of living a country life. In 1988, Ted was laid off from his Bakersfield job and the couple decided to pour their hard earned money into purchasing the local Radio Shack, then located in the old bus barn on Curry Street.

Truly a shack it was until the entrepreneurs relocated the business to Old Towne Tehachapi where it grew and thrived until 2008 when the store was again moved to the Valley Blvd./Tucker Rd. location. Ted received numerous awards from Radio Shack, including the Circle of Excellence and Top Gun Award for multiple years. They also won multiple cruises and vacations as incentive trips for their purchases and fabulous sales.

Ted and Chelley embarked on vacations in their motorhome, where Chelley would work on her novels and Ted would go fishing. They especially loved to camp at Boulder Creek in Lone Pine. Chelley passed away in 2016, after 53 years of marriage, leaving Ted with 18 dogs the couple had rescued and kept as part of Have a Heart Humane Society which, along with Gina, they founded in 2010. Ted is survived by son Dan Kitzmiller, his wife Nancy, their two daughters, Amber and Kinley, of Susanville and by his daughter Gina and her husband Mark Christopher of Tehachapi.

A Celebration of Life for Ted will be held at the BeeKay Theatre on Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. A In lieu of flowers, daughter Gina Christopher has asked that donations be made to the 501(c)(3) organization that was so close to Ted's heart, Have a Heart Humane Society at 787 Tehachapi Blvd. Have a Heart is located inside Rescued Treasures Resale Store, which Chelley founded in 2016 as a way to fund low-cost spay and neuter clinics and find loving homes for abandoned animals. The public is welcome to attend.