I looked it up and the life expectancy for a male in the USA in 2024 is 73.5 years.

Kenny made it to 74.02 years, but even though he beat the odds by just a hair, that’s not how he lived his life. He always went far over and above the average with everything.

It didn’t matter what he undertook, he wanted the best and he achieved it. If you drove out in one of his pastures, he had the best looking herds of cattle. His boar goats were bred to all have markings as close to each other as possible. He spent a lot of time in auction barns around the area picking out the animals that would best conform to his standards.

He always had great horses and well trained stock dogs. He had a special knack for getting the best behavior out of his animals.

Kenny always kept a nice fleet of construction equipment that any operator was proud to run. He ran an operation that any builder was happy to have on their job.

Kenny was always the happiest when he hosted events. Whether at his hunting ranch down in Mexico, his Lake Side Pavilion in Smithwick or at his wonderful house on the hill, he was always able to show everyone a great time.

When that big house on the hill was destroyed by fire just over 3 years ago, he was crestfallen but not defeated. No he never rebuilt it even though he spoke about doing it at times. I think he saw it as too much to undertake. He understood that there was a time for everything and to just roll with the punches.

As much as he enjoyed being down in Mexico hunting and partying on that ranch, he knew at one point it had become too dangerous with all that was happening down on the border. He was always able to weigh out situations and make the best decision. A quality and ability that we aren’t all equipped with.

When we had our last family reunion at the Pavilion last April, he told everyone that it was the last one. Not because he didn’t enjoy it, but because everything has its time. Nothing lasts forever and we have all been feeling that, especially during the past week or two.

Now is a time to celebrate Kenny and what he has meant to so many of us. He will be missed.