Kenneth "Spike" Gurney Jr.

He is sadly missed by Peggy Gurney, his loving wife for 43 years. He is happily reunited in heaven with his sister Judy Duffy and his parents Ken and “Kiki” Gurney. He is also missed by Judy’s husband Dave Duffy and his current wife Karen, his sister in law Judy Ackerman, brother-in-law Richard Gerdus, niece Ashley Ackerman, nephews Ryan and Dave Duffy and their wives Liz and Susan, great nephew Ryan Jr. and great niece Katie Duffy, and his Aunt Ginny Sullivan.

Spike was born in Winchester, Mass and raised in Arlington, Mass. He went to Bentley College in 69 and played on the tennis team. His passion for tennis carried on for over 50 years. He worked at Palm Beach Country Club in Palm Beach for 25 years as Director of Tennis, retiring in 2018. Prior to that he spent summers at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, NY for 17 years as Director of Tennis. Spikes greatest doubles partner has always been Peggy who worked alongside him in each of his club positions.

Spike served the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) 45 years. His contribution to the USPTA was as a volunteer, board member, committee chairperson, National Board Member, President of the FL Division and National Convention Chairman. He was the co-founder of the USPTA Tournament at the Lipton International Tennis Championships serving as Tournament Director. The tournament became the Miami Open, one of the largest circuit stops in the world and received much exposure for the USPTA. Spike turned the Florida Division of the USPTA into a professional organization and was one of its most accomplished presidents. He mentored many professionals under his term and led the Division to be recognized as Division of the Year – the last time that the Division received this award. During Spike’s tenure the Division was also recognized by winning Newsletter of the Year and the national Team Championships. Spike began the now normal monthly District meetings as Palm Beach County District President as a way for fellow professionals to come together for education and camaraderie.

He also had TV involvement for three and a half years. He gave weekly tennis tips on the shows World Tennis, a nationally syndicated program which reached over 20 million households and Inside FL Tennis that reached 3.5 million people in Florida. He was also the General Manager of the South FL Breakers of the Domino’s Pizza Team Tennis League.

As a result of his playing ability, Spike held national and state rankings in the USPTA. He played in Pro-AM events with fellow professionals and Exhibitions with such greats as Bobby Riggs, Chris Evert and Rod Laver.

Spike loved the game of golf and maintained a low handicap. His personal best was a 65 in 2007 at Mountain Air Country Club in Burnsville, NC where he and Peggy spent their summers since 2008. While most golfers fail to ever hit a single Hole-in-One, Spike had 3 including one at Mountain Air in 2014. Peggy and Spike were quite the team on the golf course as well, as they won the Husband & Wife Golf Club Championships for many years. He also won the Sr. Men’s Club Championship in 2013 and the Men’s Club Championship Flight in 2015. He was the Captain of the Red Team for the Ryder Cup at his Club. As far as baseball and football, he loved the Red Sox, Dolphins and Patriots. Spike loved Peggy, his family and his friends, and lived his life to the fullest. He will be missed by all who knew him.

A Celebration of Life will be held at The Isles Clubhouse, 1500 Victoria Falls Blvd. on March 17th from 1-5 pm in Palm Beach Garden, FL. There will also be a Celebration of Life this summer at Mountain Air Country Club in Burnsville, NC.

In Lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation for Multiple Myeloma Research in honor/memory of Kenneth W. Gurney. Donations can be made by mailing a check to: Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, MBC-FOUND, 12092 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612; online at www.Moffitt.org/Donate ; or by calling 1-800-456-3434 ext. 1403