Elbert "Sonny" Witt

One of the true personalities and a man who lived a life that all who knew him admired, Sonny Witt passed away early Sunday morning, October 16th, 2022 with his wife of 39 years, Kay Witt at his side and holding his hand. He will be truly missed by all of us who knew and loved him, both throughout his remarkable career and through his unflinching love for his family, friends, and the occasional stranger who was fortunate enough to interact with him. Sonny was truly a larger-than-life figure.

He was born on February 2nd, 1939, in Williamsville, Missouri where his family sharecropped during his formative years. He graduated from Poplar Bluff, MO High School in 1957 and joined the United States Air Force in April of 1963. After basic training, Sonny began a 55 year love affair with Missiles of all kinds, from defense missile silos to serving as the Emergency Operations Commander on well over 100 launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station/Space Port. Sonny retired from the military as a Master Sargent in May of 1983.

On Valentine’s Day of 1983, soon before his retirement from the military and ensuing pursuit of his lifelong dream of sailing the Atlantic, Sonny met the love of his life, Kay. Only two weeks later, he headed out to visit family, and to plan his move to Chesapeake, Maryland to secure his sailboat and plan his sailing adventure. In the middle of his trip, he reached out to Kay and asked her(and her 10 year old son Chris) to not only join him on his sailing adventure, but to marry him. After a few weeks, he returned to Wichita, Kansas to confirm their mutual commitment to what became a 39 yearlong life of love and adventure.

In May of 1983, after Chris finished his fourth grade year, they were off to Annapolis, Maryland to marry on June 28, 1983 and set sail together. For the next two years they sailed port to port, home schooled Sonny’s new best friend Chris, and enjoyed the trip of a lifetime. In early 1985, they settled for some months on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at Oriental, NC. At that time, they sold the sail boat, and decided to move to the Melbourne/Cocoa area and after a few months, Sonny went to work for the Air Force in a quality control role…soon after, the Challenger Shuttle explosion rocked the space program, and Sonny was asked to move over and support NASA and their quality control team.

Over the next 30 years, Sonny served in various leadership roles, all tied to missiles and quality management. In the summer of 1999, and just before his wife Kay went away to law school at Florida State University, Colonel Randy Horn asked Sonny to become the first Civilian to serve as Deputy Commander at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a role that he embraced and loved with all of his heart over the next 22 years. The deep friendship between Sonny and Colonel Randy Horn continued to his final days.

During those 22 years, Sonny took on a significant role in the restoration of the beautiful Cape Canaveral Lighthouse, and made a 15 year long commitment to finding, identifying, and recognizing the descendants of the original Cape Canaveral settlers. His passion for the descendants led him to petition for and receive permission to establish a Descendants Reunion Day on the Cape. You can find some of this history, as well as much more, in two books he wrote on the history of the Cape: “Drawn to the Light- The History of Cape Canaveral and It’s People)” and “The Discovery of Cape Canaveral & The Story of Who and What Came After”.

Sonny always gave the very best that he had to his work, his family, and his friends, and as many well know, expected the same of others. He left his little corner of the world a better place, and what more can a man ask than that.

On June 30, 2021 Doc’ Witt retired as Director of Operations at the Cape.

Sonny is survived by his wife of 39 years, Kay Witt; His son Tony Rice (TJ and Courtney) of St. Louis, Mo; His son Thane Rice (children Heather, Justin, Jeremy and wife Michelle) of Los Alamos, New Mexico; and his son Olen Rice (wife Julie, children Ashley (Brandon), Olen IV, and Alayna (Michael)) of Perdido Key, FL/Green Bay, WI as well as 10 great grandchildren & four fur children…Cassie, Lillie, Shya, and Ivan. Preceded in death by his son Chris.

The family will receive friends for a time of visitation on Thursday, October 20, at Wylie-Baxley Funeral Home from 10 am until noon, with a Celebration of Life Service at noon.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Suntree-Viera Rescue, Riley's Rescue, or Touch of Gray Rescue.