Patrick J. Kennebec

Patrick J. Kennebec

Patrick Kennebec of Redmond, Wash., died Dec 16, 2025 after a long, brave and deeply unfair battle with kidney disease. He was 62, and died peacefully with family by his side.

Patrick was born in Colorado, the fifth child to John and Patricia (Manning) Kennebec. A military family, they moved around several times before settling in Fairbanks, Alaska, where Patrick went to high school and lived the early part of his adulthood, forming friendships that would last his entire life. In the late 90s, Patrick moved to Washington state.

He was a software engineer for 16 years at Microsoft, despite not holding a college degree, much less one in computer science. He was good at software testing, but really enjoyed and excelled at managing people. He led small teams in Windows Phone for several years. His best memories of the time there were of going to lunch as a team, joking and discussing work challenges as a group. His goal was seeing his people succeed. Nothing made him more proud than one of his directs getting a larger role, even if it meant they moved off his team.

Patrick was a man with a positive attitude. He was generous with his time and resources, always wanting to step in to help friends, family, and neighbors in need. When Patrick's health began to fail, he still faced every day with optimism and pragmatism, sure that things were going to improve and work out.

Patrick was an avid gamer and enjoyed the communities he found online, whether exploring the new MMORPG or arguing about technology. Online gaming couldn't hold a candle to his first love, though, tabletop RPGs in-person with his friends. He loved reading books and comics, admiring those who fought for a more just world. He was fascinated by the stars and astronomy. Despite all adversity and heckling by Seattle fans, he remained a stalwart Denver Broncos and Chicago Cubs fan to the end. In recent years he became a strong supporter of Seattle's women's sports teams.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and is survived by his siblings including Matt, Ruth, Mike and Amy.

He will be greatly missed, and is undoubtedly challenging loved ones to play Scrabble or Mille Bornes in the afterlife.

If you would like to honor Patrick's life with a donation the family suggests the American Kidney Fund or North Shore Senior Center in Bothell, Wash.