September 7, 2006
Father John Kenny
Father Kenny was born in Wichita on February 3, 1921. He attended Cathedral High School before going to St. Louis to study for the priesthood at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary and Kenrick Seminary. He was ordained in the seminary chapel for the Diocese of Wichita by Most Reverend Joseph Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis, on December 21, 1946. In the Diocese of Wichita, Father Kenny was an assistant in Independence and Humboldt, administrator at Ellinwood, and pastor of All Saints in Liberty along with serving as chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Independence. In 1953 he began a twenty-year assignment as chaplain in the U.S. Army attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He received the Korean Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Bronze Star. Father Kenny retired in the Seattle area of Washington state and died on September 7, 2006. Bishop Jackels was the principal celebrant of Father Kenny’s funeral in the St. Elizabeth Chapel at the Catholic Care Center in Wichita. Father Kenny was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Wichita.