Gordon Lawrence Kenney
Dec. 17, 1935 - Jan. 12, 2021
Gordon Kenney was born in Camden, N.J., in 1935 to Frank and Mildred Kenney. His family moved from New Jersey to Nehalem, Ore., when he was in elementary school. Gordon faced a difficult childhood, full of obstacles and hardships, and because of that, left home at the young age of 16. With no one to depend upon but himself, he worked odd jobs to get by, while he completed his studies at Nehalem Union High School, where he also played quarterback and safety on the football team because, as he put it, “If everyone didn’t play a position on both offense and defense, we would not have been able to have a team!”
Gordon met the love of his life, Sarah Ruth Tubbesing, while she was still in middle school and they later became high school sweethearts. Ruth described their courtship as her often talking to him while handing him a specific tool as he laid beneath one of his hot rods. Gordon and Ruth married Aug. 24, 1957 and bought a home at the top of the hill in Nehalem. Gordon worked in the timber industry, was a volunteer firefighter, and served in the National Guard. Their family grew as did the demands of raising three children, so Gordon took on a new career with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue in Beaverton. They were founding members of Village Baptist Church, where they saw the church grow from 25 to nearly 1000 members. A true jack-of-all trades, with an unparalleled work ethic, Gordon moonlighted constantly to provide for his family, including building and repairing boats at Harvey Marine in Hillsboro and several other businesses. In his spare time, Gordon took fire science classes and mentored fire explorer scouts; commercial fished from his “Harvey” dory off the Oregon Coast and built a large auto shop behind their family home. Gordon was a dedicated firefighter throughout his career with the Fire District and he rose through the ranks, mentoring many junior crew members, and helped save many lives.
A leader with strong ethics and values, Gordon helped lead collective bargaining for better pay, benefits, and safer working conditions for the firefighter union members.
Gordon left the fire district after their children graduated from Sunset High School. Together Gordon and Ruth sold their family home moving to Halfway, Ore., to run an auto repair business. Unfortunately, the timing of this new adventure coincided with the severe economic downturn of the early 1980s, so after a few years, Gordon and Ruth moved back to the Portland area. Gordon worked in a variety of roles, eventually retiring from Washington County, where he worked as a water treatment equipment repair technician.
Well into retirement, Gordon continued to tinker with cars and built a dirt-track race car
under his two-man company known as “American Hardtops.” They placed well in many races throughout Oregon. Gordon remained active in his local church.
Gordon suffered a severe stroke in April 2017 after, you guessed it, working on a hot rod in the driveway. Following his stroke, he was able to regain more physical and cognitive ability than most thought possible. He was lovingly cared for during his last few years and having recently celebrated his 85th birthday, passed away peacefully in his sleep.
Gordon is survived by his wife of 63 years, Ruth; a daughter, Heidi (Doug) Reynolds; two sons, Ryan (Carolyn) Kenney and Barry Kenney; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. A celebration of life will be held in memory of Gordon at a later date when community health conditions permit, in light of COVID-19.
Gordon Lawrence Kenney
Dec. 17, 1935 - Jan. 12, 2021