William Francis Kenny Sr.

KENNY William Francis Kenny Sr., 85, died Sunday in St. Joseph's Medical Center, Paterson, after a brief illness. The son of William A. and Mae McGrath Kenny, Bill was born in the Bronx, NY on October 3, 1922. He grew up in South Orange and studied for the priesthood at Mt. St. Alfonsus Seminary in Esopus, NY before completing his undergraduate studies at Seton Hall University. He also attended Rutgers University Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1954. Bill was employed by the Prudential for nearly 40 years, retiring as a Director, Group Contracts, in 1986. He worked in Prudential offices in Newark, Jacksonville, FL, Wayne, and Roseland. A year after beginning his Prudential career, Bill married the former Helen Mary Kohout of Clifton's Kohout's Bakery a Lakeview institution for more than half a century on April 24, 1948, almost 60 years ago. Aside from five years in Jacksonville, FL, during the mid-1950s because of a Prudential job transfer, the Kennys lived all their married life in Clifton, most of it at their home on Greenlawn Avenue. There they raised their family of five daughters and two sons. Bill was a parishioner of St. Philip R.C. Church in Clifton and was a very active member of the parish. He had a deep baritone voice and often led the congregation in song. He was also a regular lector (reader) at Mass and he and Helen both later became Eucharistic Ministers. Bill was also a former President of St. Philip's Parish Council. Admired as an ideal couple, Bill and Helen worked with young couples in pre-Cana marriage preparation sessions at St. Philip's. Their marriage, in fact, was one of the featured "love stories" in the February 2005 issue of Clifton Merchant Magazine. Describing a key element of their relationship, Bill said at the time, "There's a lot of give. But it doesn't feel like you're giving." Bill was widely respected for the values by which he lived his life. As his longtime physician, Dr. Michael Kelly of West Paterson, said of him recently: "It's rare to find a man of such extraordinary decency." Similarly, his children said, "All of us are proud to say he was our father. He was loved and admired by us, by our mother, and by all who met him." Bill was predeceased by his parents and by his younger brother, Robert. He is survived by Helen, his devoted wife of nearly 60 years; seven children, Marilyn Thiel of Colorado Springs, CO, Karen Cleirbaut of Mt. Olive, Patricia Anne Kenny of Westfield, Janet Lynn Sacklow of Monroe Township, William F. Kenny Jr. of North Caldwell, Paul F. Kenny of Chatham, and Mary Ellen DePrima of Blairstown; 20 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The Kenny family will welcome visitors on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM. at the Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Ave., Clifton. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 AM. Wednesday morning at St. Philip's Church, 797 Valley Road, Clifton, followed by burial services at Restland Memorial Park, East Hanover. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Bill's memory to the San Alfonso Retreat House, 755 Ocean Ave., P.O. Box 3098, Long Branch, NJ 07740.