William Andrew McKenney Jr.
William Andrew McKenney, Jr., 98, passed away Sunday, February 13, 2022, at Telford Terrace in Richmond. He was the widower of Mabel Gumm McKenney. He was preceded in death by his son, William Andrew McKenney, III.
McKenney was born July 27, 1923, in Falmouth, Kentucky, and was the son of William Andrew McKenney, Sr. and Elizabeth Galloway McKenney. He was a veteran of World War II, having been inducted into the U.S. Army in April 1943. McKenney was a member of the 517th Port Battalion, which came ashore at Normandy Beach one day after D-Day. He and his unit were attempting to unload ammunition from a ship and were knocked off course by high waves. McKenney’s DUKW hit a German landmine, and he was severely injured in his left arm, losing half his wrist and elbow and spending many months in military hospitals. He was sent back to the U.S. and received therapy at a hospital in Oklahoma.
He had played the clarinet in the band at Falmouth High School (Ky.), and prior to being injured, he had been invited to join an Army musical group that performed at military bases and communities around the south of England. After the war, he went to the University of Kentucky on the GI Bill and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. While at UK, he met another music teacher, Mabel Gumm, who was working in the UK Music Dept. Office. They were married in 1950 and had a 56-year marriage that ended with Mabel’s death in 2007.
After graduating from UK, McKenney became the first band director at the newly consolidated Harrison County High School in Cynthiana, Ky. Following three years there, he became band director at U-High, a laboratory school at UK. Four years later he went to Florida State University where he earned a Ph.D. in education. He then moved his wife, daughter and son to Statesboro, Georgia, where he taught at Georgia Southern from 1961-1969. His wife felt homesick for Kentucky, so in 1969 he became an education professor at Eastern Kentucky University, where he taught until retiring in 1989. His wife was a violinist and McKenney took up the viola at age 42 in order to make string music with her. The two of them played in the string section of the EKU Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, when it was a town and gown ensemble. He was an Elder Emeritus of White Oak Pond Christian Church, and he directed the church’s choir for 18 years.
He is survived by his daughter, Nancy Jane McKenney of Lexington and a special friend, Margery Baldwin. He is also survived by nephews and a niece: Robert L. McKenney, Jr. (Fran); Kenneth McKenney; George Horine (Jean); and Susan Horine Dearinger; a great nephew, Chris Dearinger (Angela); and great nieces: Casey McKenney Monhollon (Ryan); Julia McKenney Basil (Chris); and Jessica Dearinger Massey (Joe).
Visitation will be from 1 until 2:30 p.m. Saturday, February 19, 2022, at White Oak Pond Christian Church (1238 Barnes Mill Rd.). The family asks that masks be worn inside the church.
A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at the Richmond Cemetery (606 East Main St.) with Rev. Chad Snellgrove officiating.
A memorial service featuring music and reminiscences will be held at White Oak Pond Christian Church at some future date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to White Oak Pond Christian Church (P.O. Box 2167, Richmond, KY 40476) or to the McKenney Endowed String Scholarship (EKU Office of Development, CPO 19A, 521 Lancaster Ave., Richmond, KY 40475)