Eugene E. Kinney

Eugene E. Kinney

Gene Kinney, age 84, passed away peacefully at home on October 21, 2024, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  Gene was a hard-working, fun-loving man who was devoted to his family, friends, and community and was always looking for ways to use his abundant energy to help others.  He loved to talk and to share stories with people.

Gene is predeceased by his parents (Joseph and Inez), his siblings (Florence and James), and his beloved nieces (Marla and JoAnne). He is survived by his wife Margaret (“Peggy”) and his children and their spouses, Thomas (Diana), Jeanne (Frank), Lisa (Marc), and Steven (Yui).  Gene is also survived by his adoring grandchildren (Will, Teo, Emma, Gaby, Stella, and Rosemary); his nieces and nephews (the “Kinney kids”); and the extended Gordon clan.

Gene was valedictorian at Cathedral High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a scholarship student at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, where he majored in math (and card playing with the Christian Brothers seminarians).  A graduate semester at the University of Minnesota in 1961 exposed him to the brand-new field of computer science and he participated in many interesting developments in the field over his professional career as a programmer and project manager, first at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in Hartford, Connecticut; then at Bell Aerospace Labs in Niagara Falls, New York; and at Xerox Data Systems in Los Angeles, California in the 1970s and Rochester, New York, in the 1980s and 1990s.

At Pratt & Whitney, he met the love of his life and best friend, Peggy Gordon.  One of his goals once he was diagnosed with stage IV cancer was to make it to their 60^th anniversary, which they celebrated in July.

A self-described “Type A” personality, Gene could never sit still and was encouraged by Peggy to channel his energy into volunteer activities.  Early on, he and Peggy team taught CCD (“Sunday school”) at St. Catherine of Siena Church for ten years.  At the end of the 1980s through early 1990s, he was head of the building committee, which oversaw the design and building of the new church, the relocation of the 100-year-old church, and the construction of new meeting and office spaces.   Starting in the late 1980s, he was on the Pittsford School Board for six years and was proud to be able to hand Steven his HS graduation diploma.  He served on the BOCES 1 School Board for fourteen years, helping to establish the non-profit Monroe 1 BOCES Educational Foundation that raises and administers funds for grants and facilities.  He served in various roles in the New York State PTA from 1995-2016, winning awards at the local, state, and national levels for his sustained contributions (including his work in transitioning regional and state PTAs from paper-driven business practices to a technology and data systems approach).  Later in life, he devoted his volunteer energy to the Eastside YMCA, helping to brighten the overall landscaping post-COVID and construct the community garden.

Gene loved sports and his house is decorated with the many beautiful embroideries he completed while watching games in the 1970s and 1980s during his Rosie Greer phase.  He took up running in the 1980s, encouraged by Peggy who told him “you need to either stop eating or start exercising.”  He completed eleven marathons — most at an impressive 8:30 minutes per mile pace – and countless other half-marathons and shorter runs (many finished shirtless, regardless of the weather).  His love of yard work and gardening was also encouraged by Peggy, though she did limit his use of power tools after the infamous chainsaw episode of 1979.

In retirement, he and Peggy traveled the world to spoil their grandchildren, making many trips to France, Thailand, Texas, Boston, and California over the years.  They also spoiled their children, through their generous migrant labor services.  (Gene focused on working in the yard and organizing garages, but he also provided much of the grunt labor for the house renovation or woodworking projects that Peggy spearheaded.)   A trip to Ireland with the Kinney clan was one highlight of post-retirement travel.  Gene also enjoyed collaborating with members of the extended family to help research both the Kinney and Gordon family histories.

Gene made many wonderful friends through work, church (including the St. Catherine’s “Family Group”), running (Karl and his running buddies), and his volunteer activities — all of whom he shared many adventures and stories with (and who became the subject of the stories he passed on to others).   When his trailblazing older sister wrote her life story and aptly titled it “I Did It My Way,” Gene noted that his life theme would be “Thanks for the Memories” – since so many people played an important part in his life.

A celebration of Gene’s life is planned for 12 p.m. on November 2^nd at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 26 Mendon Ionia Road, Mendon, NY, with reception to follow at 1 p.m. in the adjoining church hall.  The 12 p.m. mass will be livestreamed on the Saint Catherine You Tube site (https://www.youtube.com/@st.catherineofsienamendon6531).   In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Catherine of Siena Church, Eastside YMCA, or UR Medicine Hospice.