Leon Clifford Kenyon

1924 - 2019

Leon Clifford Kenyon: January 14, 1924 – March 24, 2019. Leon C. Kenyon, age 95, died peacefully on March 24, 2019, at this home in Red Lodge, Montana. He loved this life and lived it well and fully. Leon was born on January 14, 1924, in Coffeeville, Kansas, the first son of Leon Sr and Roberta (Galpin) Kenyon. His family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he was a child. He considered Baton Rouge his home. At Istrouma High, he ran track, an experience he valued his entire life, earning a track scholarship to Louisiana State University. When World War II began, he volunteered for the Marines, serving in the South Pacific as a sergeant. At the end of the war, he returned to LSU to study chemical engineering. He joined Sigma Chi fraternity and seriously pursued Mary Elizabeth Benton, the woman who became the heart, soul and deepest love of his life. In a marriage of 68 years beginning September 30, 1949, Mary and Leon had four children, Kathy, Leon III, Bob, and John. Leon and Mary volunteered during their entire adult lives to make the community a better place for their children and the youth of Baton Rouge. Leon led the YMCA's Indian Guides program, building it to over 1000 fathers and sons in the 1970s. He worked hand-in-hand with Mary for over two decades to make day and overnight camping experiences available to the youth of Baton Rouge. Leon and Mary received the President's National Volunteer Service Award in recognition of their volunteer work. Leon valued the friendships he made along the way, in particular with the young people he helped, who remained friends for his entire life. He loved, enjoyed, helped (and was loved and helped in turn) by his nephews and nieces and their children. Leon and Mary were among the first members of the Unitarian Fellowship in Baton Rouge. They were lifelong civil rights advocates. Leon's 30-year career (1952-1982) as a chemical engineer at Exxon spanned enormous technological change. He was on the team at Exxon that built the first computer-controlled processes in the Baton Rouge refinery, one of the first in the US. He deeply valued his colleagues and career at Exxon. After retiring, he worked as a consultant at the Exxon refinery in Billings, Montana. Leon worked on innovative energy technology into his 80s. Leon and Mary visited Yellowstone National Park hundreds of times, and in 1993 built their second home in Red Lodge, Montana, where they spent summers, welcoming family and friends to enjoy the beauty of Montana and Yellowstone Park (and to escape Louisiana's heat and humidity). They made close friends in Red Lodge and were engaged in the community. At the end of his life, Leon suffered from dementia. In 2015, Mary and Leon moved (with the help of their daughter and son-in-law) to their home in Red Lodge. Leon's beloved wife of 68 years died December 18, 2017. Leon is survived by his four children and their spouses and grandchildren: Kathy married Don Redfoot and they have two children, Kenyon and Emma Redfoot; Leon married Cindy Burlingham and they have one child, Robert Kenyon-Cardenas, married to Gabriela Kenyon-Cardenas; Bob, whose wife Judith died too soon, has two children Michael and William Kenyon; and John married Nancy Kenyon and has a son, Sam Kenyon, and stepson, Jake Munic. Leon is also survived by beloved family, related through the families of Mary's brothers, Fred Jr. and Tommy Benton, now deceased, and their wives, Courtney Benton and Jodie Benton. Memorial donations may be made to BREC or Yellowstone Forever.