Kenneth Joseph Balchunas

Kenneth J. Balchunas, 76, of Miramar Beach, Florida passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, March 13, 2026. Born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey, Ken was the son of the late Joseph and Aldona Balchunas. He will be deeply missed by his son, daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and his friends and family. 

Ken spent the bulk of his career as the President of Remixer, a highway paving company that took old, worn-out roads and ‘remixed’ them by heating up the old material and using it to lay down a smooth new surface that is much nicer to drive on. He was a great communicator and was on the road a lot visiting different states’ transportation departments trying to bid for new jobs for his company. He was asked frequently to give speeches around the world about civil engineering. His job took him to all but two of the fifty states and to dozens of different countries, including a year spent in the Philippines working on innovative highway projects. While on paving jobs, he would organize epic softball games with crew and their families. 

A very good student growing up, Ken was especially skilled at math (known to some as ‘the human calculator’) and went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Villanova University. He also briefly taught civil engineering at Drexel University. He was a star basketball player in high school and was frequently mentioned in headlines in the sports section of the city paper as leading his team to victory. His love of basketball continued throughout his life, which he passed on to his son, Eric, and grandson, Gabriel. He was also an avid Villanova basketball fan, watching most of their games on TV. 

After living and working in Texas, Maryland and Tennessee, Ken eventually settled down at his beloved beach house in Miramar Beach, FL and spent the last thirty years of his life fishing, swimming and enjoying the ocean, sunshine, watching sports and listening to his favorite music, which included Jackson Browne, ELO and Bob Dylan. 

Ken loved to host family and friends, both old and new, at his beach house. He also frequently organized “driveway concerts”,  where he hired musicians from his church to come and do a concert full of Neil Young cover songs for the neighborhood, which made for many fun and happy memories. He was also an avid reader and big fan of history, especially, World War II, and especially, Winston Churchill. 

Ken is survived by his son, Eric; his daughter-in-law, Trang; and two grandchildren, Gabriel and Elliott, whom all reside in Philadelphia. He also leaves behind two nieces, whom he spoke to frequently, Susan Mendes of Mesa, AZ and Karen Kloo of Toms River, NJ. He is predeceased by his loving parents; as well as his beloved sister, Joyce Schug of Lavallette, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to A Simple Faith Church, 360 Wrm Circle, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459 in Kenneth's memory; (402) 650-9463.