Kenny was born in the old white house under the bluff, the second child, first son, in a family of seven children. He was a man of tremendous energy. In his younger years he possessed superior athletic abilities.
He graduated from Logan (2 year) high school and from Gorham where he drove the school bus and made a reputation as a pitcher on the same team as Joe Grace. He had a throwing arm like howitzer, developed from hours of throwing green walnuts from a tree in the back yard over the barn. Despite urgings from many, he never tried for a baseball career for one simple reason: he was not a baseball fan. He opted instead for hard work. He worked on the Mississippi, rip-rapping the river banks, went to Kansas to shock wheat, loaded cement into dump trucks during the construction of route 3. He was an accomplished eletrician. He wired many houses for the REA, degaussed ships, which help them avoid mines, as an Electricians Mate during WWII. He was an outstanding and resspected farmer. For 30 years he farmed during the summer and wired electric motors during the winter at Jackson County Battery Company in Murphysboro. He married Lillian Kessel and they made their home at Lillian's birthplace on Dry Hill. Kenneth had a fine sense of community responsibility. He served as Kinkaid townshhip supervisor. He was on the board of Jackson County Nursing Home. He spent hundreds of hours tending Glenn Cemetery doing everything from raising funds with box-suppers to cutting the grass. His respect for the dead was profound and renowned. When he was too old to work, he considered it his civic duty to attend every funeral in the vicinity just to honor the dead. He passed away after a short illness following a stroke at age 92.
He graduated from Logan (2 year) high school and from Gorham where he drove the school bus and made a reputation as a pitcher on the same team as Joe Grace. He had a throwing arm like howitzer, developed from hours of throwing green walnuts from a tree in the back yard over the barn. Despite urgings from many, he never tried for a baseball career for one simple reason: he was not a baseball fan. He opted instead for hard work. He worked on the Mississippi, rip-rapping the river banks, went to Kansas to shock wheat, loaded cement into dump trucks during the construction of route 3. He was an accomplished eletrician. He wired many houses for the REA, degaussed ships, which help them avoid mines, as an Electricians Mate during WWII. He was an outstanding and resspected farmer. For 30 years he farmed during the summer and wired electric motors during the winter at Jackson County Battery Company in Murphysboro. He married Lillian Kessel and they made their home at Lillian's birthplace on Dry Hill. Kenneth had a fine sense of community responsibility. He served as Kinkaid townshhip supervisor. He was on the board of Jackson County Nursing Home. He spent hundreds of hours tending Glenn Cemetery doing everything from raising funds with box-suppers to cutting the grass. His respect for the dead was profound and renowned. When he was too old to work, he considered it his civic duty to attend every funeral in the vicinity just to honor the dead. He passed away after a short illness following a stroke at age 92.
Kenny was born in the old white house under the bluff, the second child, first son, in a family of seven children. He was a man of tremendous energy. In his younger years he possessed superior athletic abilities.
He graduated from Logan (2 year) high school and from Gorham where he drove the school bus and made a reputation as a pitcher on the same team as Joe Grace. He had a throwing arm like howitzer, developed from hours of throwing green walnuts from a tree in the back yard over the barn. Despite urgings from many, he never tried for a baseball career for one simple reason: he was not a baseball fan. He opted instead for hard work. He worked on the Mississippi, rip-rapping the river banks, went to Kansas to shock wheat, loaded cement into dump trucks during the construction of route 3. He was an accomplished eletrician. He wired many houses for the REA, degaussed ships, which help them avoid mines, as an Electricians Mate during WWII. He was an outstanding and resspected farmer. For 30 years he farmed during the summer and wired electric motors during the winter at Jackson County Battery Company in Murphysboro. He married Lillian Kessel and they made their home at Lillian's birthplace on Dry Hill. Kenneth had a fine sense of community responsibility. He served as Kinkaid townshhip supervisor. He was on the board of Jackson County Nursing Home. He spent hundreds of hours tending Glenn Cemetery doing everything from raising funds with box-suppers to cutting the grass. His respect for the dead was profound and renowned. When he was too old to work, he considered it his civic duty to attend every funeral in the vicinity just to honor the dead. He passed away after a short illness following a stroke at age 92.
He graduated from Logan (2 year) high school and from Gorham where he drove the school bus and made a reputation as a pitcher on the same team as Joe Grace. He had a throwing arm like howitzer, developed from hours of throwing green walnuts from a tree in the back yard over the barn. Despite urgings from many, he never tried for a baseball career for one simple reason: he was not a baseball fan. He opted instead for hard work. He worked on the Mississippi, rip-rapping the river banks, went to Kansas to shock wheat, loaded cement into dump trucks during the construction of route 3. He was an accomplished eletrician. He wired many houses for the REA, degaussed ships, which help them avoid mines, as an Electricians Mate during WWII. He was an outstanding and resspected farmer. For 30 years he farmed during the summer and wired electric motors during the winter at Jackson County Battery Company in Murphysboro. He married Lillian Kessel and they made their home at Lillian's birthplace on Dry Hill. Kenneth had a fine sense of community responsibility. He served as Kinkaid townshhip supervisor. He was on the board of Jackson County Nursing Home. He spent hundreds of hours tending Glenn Cemetery doing everything from raising funds with box-suppers to cutting the grass. His respect for the dead was profound and renowned. When he was too old to work, he considered it his civic duty to attend every funeral in the vicinity just to honor the dead. He passed away after a short illness following a stroke at age 92.
Gravesite Details
Grave photos by Diane Anderson
