Kenny Oyer

1939 - 2024

Kenny "Bowtie" Oyer passed away peacefully in Omaha, NE on Thursday, April 11, 2024, in the loving presence of his daughter Maeve and grandson Jude. Kenny was born in Chillicothe, OH, May 13, 1939, to parents Bonadine Mix and Frank Eldon Oyer.

Kenny learned to play more than ten instruments over the course of his life, but his first and truest love was the clarinet. Learning to play the clarinet at age ten transformed his life, and the instrument forever remained a crucial part of his identity. In his final days, Kenny said that music "is the essence of his heart."

Kenny's education and passion for music took him all over the world; his musical performances have been received in Canada, USA and Territories, Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece. The most life-changing of these performances occurred in 1961 when, during his pursuit of a bachelor's degree in Music Education at University of Michigan (earned 1962), he and U of M's symphony band traveled to the Soviet Union and other countries to perform. He often reminisced about this experience, and Russian remained one of his favorite languages to speak and hear for the rest of his days.

Kenny was also enthusiastic about education, both his own and others'. In 1975, he completed his Master's in Library Science at Louisiana State University, but he was a voracious reader and continued to take college courses well into his 70s. As such, he knew at least a little about a lot, and served as a teacher in a variety of subjects, including computer programming, English language composition, private music instruction, and stage presence and performance for young adults.

He was well-known and loved in many circles, including his church, St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Omaha, NE, Bergan Mercy Medical Center where he served as the Medical Librarian for 34 years, and Omaha's musical and collegiate communities. Kenny Bowtie had the incredible ability to see into the hearts of everyone he met and know exactly what to say or do to make a positive impact. His joy was contagious.

He is survived by his sisters, Jan, Linda, and Kristy, his children, Nick, Dale, Gay, Susan, Ken Jr., and Maeve, 19 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, and many more honorary children and grandchildren.

In a final philanthropic act, Kenny Bowtie donated his body to the Anatomical Board of Nebraska in order to further the education of medical students he so diligently served in his career. Memorial service to be held at a future date. Please send all remembrances, well wishes, photos, videos, and other recordings to: RememberingKennyO@gmail.com.