Deceased December 23, 2020

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In Memory

Herbert Leslie Kinney was born April 26, 1922, in Plainfield, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires to Ethel Upham and Elisha Stanton Kinney. His father died when Herbert was 3, and his mother returned to the Upham Homestead in Townsend, Massachusetts, where he spent his early childhood.

He graduated from Ayer (Mass.) High School with high honors in 1940 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942, serving overseas in Europe and reaching the rank of captain.

In 1945, he married high school classmate Sarah “Betsie” Longley and resumed his education. In 1949, he graduated cum laude from Amherst College. As a returning G.I. living in the G.I. Village on campus with young families was not a typical college experience but a uniquely heartwarming one. He recalled listening to Robert Frost in Johnson Chapel as one of his most memorable experiences while a student at Amherst. The highlight of his senior year came while writing his thesis on human rights when he was given an interview and had lunch with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt at Hyde Park. He later received an MBA from George Washington University. In 1962, he was selected as the Atomic Energy Commission’s designated student to attend the Defense Industrial College at Fort McNair.

He worked briefly for the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, Tennessee, and then transferred in 1951 to the Atomic Energy Commission’s office in Oak Ridge. In 1956, he transferred to the AEC headquarters in Washington, D.C. He worked in the division of research on peaceful uses of atomic energy and retired in 1979. That same year, he moved to Long Island, N.Y., and worked for 14 more years at the Brookhaven National Laboratory as special assistant to the director.

Firmly opposed to war and all violence, he and his wife joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1960. In addition to Friends activities, he was an avid gardener, building rock gardens with each new move, working as a team with his wife in their mutual love of gardening. Herb had a warm sense of humor, a help in reaching difficult decisions and a delight on a personal basis. In July 2020, Herb and his wife joyously celebrated their 75th anniversary.

In 1998, they moved west to California’s Mojave Desert to be close to their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren and, four years later, followed them to Oregon, settling in Coos Bay.

Herbert passed away on December 23, 2020. He was preceded in death by his son Jon in 1986 and his daughter Katie in 2015. Surviving are son-in-law Dave Wash, grandson Jon Brian Kinney Wash, and granddaughter Galen Wash Hunsinger. Internment of his ashes will be at the Friends Cemetery, Sandy Springs, Maryland.

Sarah Kinney

 

Herb was one of the members of what Tom Brokaw admiringly called “the greatest generation.” He was born in 1922, graduated with high honors from high school in 1940 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor. He served in the European theater of operations and reached the rank of captain.

In 1945, he married high school classmate Betsie (Skidmore ’44), lived in the G.I. Village and graduated cum laude in 1949. He recalled listening to Robert Frost in Johnson Chapel, and then in his senior year while writing his thesis on human rights, he was given an interview with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and had lunch at Hyde Park.

After earning his MBA at George Washington University, he was selected in 1962 as the Atomic Energy Commission-designated student to attend the Defense Industrial College at Fort McNair. He worked briefly for the Tennessee Valley Authority and then transferred in 1951 to the Atomic Energy Commission offices in Oak Ridge. In 1956, he moved to the AEC headquarters in Washington.

He worked in the division of research on peaceful uses of atomic energy and retired in 1979. That same year, he moved to Long Island, New York, and worked 14 more years at the Brookhaven National Laboratory as special assistant to the director.

Firmly opposed to war and all violence, he and his wife joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1960. In July 2020, Herb and Betsie joyously celebrated their 75th anniversary! In 1998, they moved to California to be near children and grandchildren and, four years later, followed them to Coos Bay, Oregon.

He passed away on December 23, 2020, closing out a life of service, idealism and a professional career to make all of his classmates proud. We salute you.

Gerry Reilly ’49