[at-l] Packstock, Mr. Gimp... Justin Kenny

[themissjanet at gmail.com (Miss Janet)]

Justin Miles Kenny  	 	   
KENNY, JUSTIN MILES, born October 6, 1977 in Fayette, Ala., died July
9, 2005 in Duncannon, Pa., in an accident while hiking the Appalachian
Trail. That small town of his passing, coincidentally, was the site of
his paternal great-grandfather's first job in America (as a
lumberjack) in the early 20th century as an immigrant from Lithuania.
A lifelong adventurer, Kenny took on the famous A.T. as a summer
project and was about 1,000 miles along when his remarkable life was
cut short. A gifted songwriter, musician and singer, Kenny played bass
and lead guitar in several bands in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham before
forming his own ensemble he named Separate Species. Although largely
self taught, Kenny studied music at Shelton State, particularly
singing under Glinda Blackshear, and sang with the Shelton Singers.
Also a health and fitness enthusiast, he earned a wellness personal
trainer certificate at Shelton in 2000. Justin seemed driven to
experience as much of life as he could, which led him to work on a
sheep farm near the arctic circle in Norway when he was 18, to
hitchhike across the country, to canoe with a friend down the Cahaba
to the Alabama River and many other adventures. Justin leaves as a
legacy scores (if not hundreds) of beautiful ballads composed during
the last 10 years of his life. His prolific songwriting began in Las
Vegas where he was known to create as many as three complete songs
(during and after working the night shift at the airport) with
ingenious rhyming lyrics and original music. A dynamic, big-hearted
poet-athlete, Justin seemed to know his candle would not burn very
long, so he made sure it burned so brightly. Justin M. Kenny is
survived by his fianc?e Emily Delzell of Birmingham, by his mother
Carla Shelton of the Liberty Community near Ethelsville, by his father
and step-mother James M. and Julie Kenny of Tuscaloosa, by his brother
Dylan Kenny of Liberty, by his maternal grandparents Carl and Nellie
Shelton of Liberty and his paternal grandmother Joan Kenny of Sterling
Heights, Mich. Justin's family, including his uncles from Michigan and
California, will receive visitors at the Dowdle Funeral Home in
Millport, Ala. on Wednesday from 2-3 p.m. A memorial service will be
held at the funeral home and burial will follow immediately on a hilly
spot in the family plot under the stars at Andrews Chapel in Liberty.
The Dowdle Funeral Home's address is 270 McCadams, Street, Millport,
Ala., 35576.
Published in The Birmingham News on 7/12/2005.
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Miss Janet
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