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Charles Kenney Obituary
August 25, 1929 - November 14, 2025
Dick passed away at Riverside Hospital, Newport News, Virginia on November 14, 2025 at the age of 96.
Dick was born in Medford, Massachusetts and raised in nearby Stoneham. He graduated from Stoneham High School in 1947 and joined the USAF where he served in the Weather Service for 6 years. In 1951 he married Georgia Paquette Whaley in Melbourne, Florida. Dick and Georgia moved to North Reading, MA where Dick went to work with an electronics firm in the Boston area and entered Northeastern University graduating in 1959 with a degree in Electronic Engineering and Management. During this time they had two children, Charles Jr. and Patricia (Trish).
In 1959 the family moved to Charlottesville, VA where Dick took an engineering job with Sperry Marine Systems. He spent over 30 years at Sperry in Charlottesville. In 1988 Sperry was acquired by Newport News Shipbuilding/Tenneco, and in 1993, Dick retired from Newport News/Tenneco as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Sperry Marine Inc. Sadly Georgia passed away in 2000 following a lengthy illness ending a loving marriage of nearly 50 years.
In 2001 Dick and Linda Waterfield Odom were married in Newport News, VA and moved to Hampton, VA where they have happily resided for over 18 years.
In addition to his wife Linda, Dick is survived by his son, Charlie who lives in Boxford, MA and Charlie's son, Drew, wife Meghan and their son Shawn who live in Marlborough, MA; his daughter, Trish Kenney and her husband Steve Bosley who live in Nellysford, VA and their daughter Rachael and husband Felix Xu who live in Wenham, MA, and their son Elijah (Eli) and his wife Taylor Woloszynski who live in Charlottesville, VA.
Interment will be private at the Albert G. Horton Memorial Gardens, Suffolk, VA. If you would like to make a donation in Dick's memory please do so to the charity of your choice.
Memories and Condolences
for Charles Kenney
Sponsored by R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home - Hampton.
1 Entry
Lucinda Hart-Littlefield
November 17, 2025
My prayers are with his family. My first job out of high school .. He was always a gentleman, intelligent and wonderful person and boss. The best!!
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R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home - Hampton245 South Armistead Avenue, Hampton, VA 23669
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