Obituary of William Jay Kenney

William J. Kenney

June 19, 1958 ~ May 10, 2019

William J Kenney of Vancouver, WA, passed away on Friday, May 10th, 2019 at the age of 60. After months of failing health he died at home with his wife and beloved dogs, Biscuit and Honey, by his side.

Billy was born June 19, 1958, in Hillsboro, OR, to Jake and June Kenney.

As a young boy he learned to work hard picking strawberries, throwing them or dirt clods at his brother Les and hitting him in the head or eating all of the strawberries he had left.  In his teen years he hauled hay in Jay, Ok. For ½ penny a bail, he did so well they gave him a raise! One full penny a bail!

In 1974, he met the love of his life, Judy Stockton. On June 30, 1979, they married and lived together over 40 years. Together they had 3 sons and also welcomed their nephews with open arms.  They went to all 5 boys’ football games with great enthusiasm, spent time at the creek and loved driving the dirt roads, listening to Randy Travis while the boys’ hunted cans to turn into candy money.

Billy loved music and played the harmonica and guitar. His acute awareness of the importance of a life lived with the ones you love over any material possession was only handicapped by his territorial attachment to his guitar.

He worked as a heavy equipment operator most of his adult life. He spent a lot of time away from home working but as soon as he got home for the weekend he would head straight to the boys rooms to wake them.  Billy had an uncanny ability at grading and producing perfection at everything he did.

He had a wonderful sense of humor and quick wit.  Even as sick as he was at the hospital he would joke with the nurses (or yell at them) and kept them on their toes.  He made people laugh and many loved him.

He was a good father who always took care of his children and did the best he could to teach and guide them.  A loving grandfather and great- grandfather.

Billy is survived by loving wife, Judy Kenney of Vancouver, children, David Stockton of Ft. Worth, TX, Joshua and Christine Kenney of Vancouver, Christopher and Jessica Kenney of Vancouver, nephews, Leslie Kenney of Woodland, WA and Jesse Kenney, of Vancouver, WA. Grandchildren, Taylor, Hailee, Jaylynn, and Jake. Malayla, Kaylee and Dakota. Great-grandsons, Levi and Cameron. His two chicken loving buddies, Biscuit and Honey.  Brothers, Leslie and Cody Kenney of LA Center, WA and Paul and Shrina Kenney of Vancouver, WA.WA.,  Sister, Paula Warner, Ridgefield, WA.

He was a strong man, a good friend to all, a man who would give his shirt for a friend.

One of his friends wrote, what you saw was what you got with him and what you saw-if you were lucky enough to be his friend-was a delightful, generous, easy going fun loving human being. He was a legend, one of a kind.

There’s the story of when he was little, the family went camping up at Cranes Prairie. Jake and his buddy went fishing and told the boys they could play with the raft but to stay away from the lake-well as soon as they left, Billy and his buddy took off to the lake with the raft.  When Jake got back and asked Les where Billy was, Les pointed to the lake and Jake took off after Billy and switched him all the way back to camp.  Jake would switch him and Billy would jump in the air.

The way he died is just like he lived, he wrote his own rules, he fought authority and paved his own way, and if you said he couldn’t do it, he would make sure he could. He was Billy the Kid.

He had so much goodness, so much capacity to bring happiness to others.  He will be greatly missed.

A Friend Wrote:

It is the quiet times that the silence closes in

When you look over and want to say something or want to hear, and it comes back again,

The realization that there is a divide,

Till both cross, the pain of loneliness comes back.

Never doubt, time heals all wounds, like the Salve of Gilead, time will take out the bitter and your heart will heal. Just they aren’t the same again and time passes so slowly.

Mere words are no replacement for a beating heart next to you.

Losing our loved ones, especially your other half,

Is a pain like no other.