Kenyon Daniel

1944 - 2025

Kenyon Daniel
12/23/1944 - 08/22/2025
Kenyon Rector Daniel died peacefully in San Antonio, Texas, on August 22, 2025, with her son Bill by her side. She was 80.

Born on December 23, 1944, in Richland, Washington, she was the daughter of H. Hayden Rector and Jacqueline Carpenter Rector. Her father, an attorney with the Army Corps of Engineers, was assigned to the Manhattan Project at Hanford.

After the war, the family settled in Mobile, Alabama, where she attended the Julius T. Wright School for Girls and Murphy High School. She worked in her father's law office while in high school and spent summers with her parents on the Gulf Coast.

She began her studies at Auburn University and later attended Mississippi Southern. She lived in New Orleans and Atlanta before settling in San Antonio, Tulsa, and eventually Houston, where she raised her family. In 1974 she earned a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from St. Mary's University and went on to work in business, finance, and real estate.

In midlife she pursued a second career in nursing, earning a degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She worked in Houston as a labor and delivery nurse and later as an elementary school nurse, a role she considered her most rewarding.

A breast cancer survivor at age 37, she volunteered with patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She loved travel, the performing arts, playing bridge, cooking, reading, and above all, time with family and friends. Kenyon was active in her community, serving on her neighborhood association and participating in the garden club.

She is survived by her sons, Bradley Stephenson of Wolcott, Vermont and William ("Bill") Daniel Jr of Austin; her grandchildren, Ramsey Stephenson, Hayden Stephenson, Sienna Kojfman and Kyle Kojfman; her former husband, William Daniel Sr.; and many dear friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her great-aunt Gillette Hayden Rector, and her former husband, Roger Stephenson.

In accordance with her wishes, she will be cremated, and her ashes scattered along the Gulf Coast she loved. Memorial contributions may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.