John Thomas Kenney (1953-2021)
My father passed away unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon. Please excuse my absence and keep us in your prayers.
In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
"May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once (a) poor (man), may you have eternal rest."
I will have to beg your forgiveness this week.
My father — John Thomas Kenney — passed away yesterday afternoon, somewhat unexpectedly at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Thankfully, I was here along with my stepmother and younger sister. Dad was 68 years of age.
The old man was in great spirits yesterday. Just had three stints put in. Won at slot machines on Monday. Had fishing poles and the boat ready to go. God had other plans. The medical team at Fort Leonard Wood worked feverishly for over an hour to give him every chance they could. I couldn’t thank them more.
In the end, his great heart gave out.
There’s a tendency in obituaries to laud people as great and heroic persons. My dad was not a heroic man. He was an good man who did extraordinary things, and in that alone there is a heroism most people miss. Served in the Persian Gulf War, worked 20 years with CDTF here at Fort Leonard Wood before retiring. The old man carried a great deal, not just for himself but for others. Dad was generous to a fault. He snored. He had an Irish temper that I am told is entirely genetic with no known cure. Dad enjoyed fishing his entire life — it does not go unnoticed that he passed on the feast day of St. John Fisher, which seems to me to be no coincidence.
I loved him with all my heart. I wanted to be like him as a kid and couldn’t wait to see him after my parents divorced when I was 4. I felt whole around him, like there was a missing puzzle piece made better just by his presence. Just watching him fish or watch television — or extend his middle finger and remind me who was Number One — were the moments I wanted… and got. I suppose every son could say that about a dad. For me, it was tangible and real. I see him in my kids, my brothers, my sisters… and in some way, he’s still around and will be for a long time.
The old man even left 1/8 a tank of gas in the truck as I was driving back from the hospital. Dad got one last joke in.
My father is survived by his wife and the absolute best stepmom in the world, three brothers and a sister, six children (four sons and two daughters) and 16 grandchildren ranging 20 years of age to 20 weeks and expected in October. Dad has his parents, a sister, three sons and a daughter, and one grandson waiting to go fishing in a place where it all makes sense. If I am a good man, I will get to meet and see them all — this is what my faith teaches me. St. Augustine teaches:
“Do not despair, the good thief was saved; do not presume, the bad thief was damned.”
My apologies for sending all of this. But for many of you whom I know, I am ultimately writing friends — and others, friends I just haven’t met yet. So you’ll hopefully forgive my more personal touch today and my absence this week. Mea culpa.
Please pray for my family this week if you are so inclined.
Thank you for reading this. Be a good thief.
Shaun Kenney is the editor of The Republican Standard, former chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Fluvanna County, and a former executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia.