Carolyn “Cale” Kenney

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Cale Kenney, who left us on January 7, 2026, following a period of declining health. Near the end of her freshman year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Cale suffered a tragic accident that changed the course of her life at just 19 years old. Over the following summer and fall, she faced her new reality with courage—adjusting to life with one less limb, pelvis, and hip. In January 1972, she returned to campus determined to finish her degree. She not only succeeded, she thrived and inspired.

Cale followed her dream. Soon she journeyed from the beaches of Revere to the peaks of Winter Park, Colorado, where she discovered new passions for downhill skiing and journalism.

Outriggers—poles tipped with small skis—enabled Cale not only to ski but to compete. By 1979, she had become a national champion. The following year, she represented the United States at the Paralympic Games in Geilo, Norway (she placed seventh in her event). A knee injury in the early 1980s eventually curtailed Cale's racing career, but by then, she was a fixture on the slopes and in the town, writing about competitive skiing for the "Winter Park Manifest."

Her reporting led to more writing and publishing, too. She went on to earn an MA in English from Colorado State University, where a writing class she first took—and later taught—became a source of inspiration. In 1991, she moved to Denver, and in the mid-1990s, she launched "Howlings: Wild Women of the West" to give voice to the creative women she was meeting across the region. The 'zine also gave her the opportunity to write for an audience. During this time, Cale hosted writers' salons in her Denver apartment, attended writers' conferences, and began drafting a memoir.

She wrote through her pain, debilitating phantom-limb pain, sores at her amputation site and infections. She suffered an overuse injury of her upper extremities that forced her into a power wheelchair. Still, she wrote. She published "Have Crutch Will Travel" in 2002, a collection of short stories about the phases of her life. Soon thereafter, she returned to Massachusetts and found an apartment in Beverly to be closer to her family.

She was a mermaid, a flamingo, a "Modern Day Calamity Jane." She was a reporter, a storyteller, a publisher. She was an adventurer, a traveler, a hiker on crutches. She was a daughter, a sibling, an aunt, a great-aunt, and a friend to many. She is survived by five siblings: Suzy, Joanne, Steve, Chrissie and Will and their spouses; by 11 nieces and nephews; by 14 great-nieces and great-nephews; and by friends from childhood, from college, from skiing and writing, and by new friends and neighbors as well. A Celebration of Life was held in her honor on February 7 at the First Congregational Church, 230 Beach St, Revere, MA. Her ashes will be scattered in a few of her favorite places.

Donations in Cale's memory can be made to the New England Healing Sports Association (NESHA), PO Box 2135, Newbury, NH 03255.

Photo credits:
On the slope, Winter Park, Colorado. Photo by Bruce Benedict, 1980

"We're amputees, too!" Photo by Phil Miller, Boston, circa 1976

Portrait, Cambridge, 1987 (candid Polaroid snapshot)

Portrait, 2013 (photographer unknown)