Jonathan E. Kenny

Jonathan Eugene Kenny, 67, died unexpectedly at home on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. He was born in Chicago on February 8, 1953 and was the eldest son and the second of six children of Eugene and Jeanette (Mucha) Kenny.

Jonathan attended St. Albert the Great Catholic School and was a 1971 graduate of St. Laurence High School in Burbank, IL, a Christian Brothers’ all boys school where he was the first in his class every year and graduated Valedictorian. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a concentration in Mathematics. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, he pursued a doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry at the University of Chicago and earned his PhD in 1979.

From 1979 to 1981, Jonathan was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. He was hired as an Assistant Professor at Tufts University in Medford, MA in the Department of Chemistry in 1981. Jonathan was awarded tenure six years later as Associate Professor and was subsequently promoted to Professor. He enjoyed a nearly 40-year career at Tufts, where he was a passionate and dedicated teacher and mentor to countless undergraduate and graduate students. Jonathan was also a guiding force in a wide range of environmental initiatives at Tufts, including the Environmental Studies Program.

He was a lifelong educator and dedicated father to his five sons. He was actively involved in each of his sons’ lives, coaching Lexington Youth Soccer and Baseball for years, and teaching CCD classes to all of them. He shared equally with his wife, Anne, in the care of his children: cooking daily dinners, making lunches, going shopping, constructing incredible Halloween costumes and helping with homework, among countless other activities. He also enjoyed the companionship of the family felines, Charles and Sarah. He was beloved by all members of his family.

Jonathan exemplified the importance of good morals, and along with his family, spent summers at the Family Volunteer Camp hosted by Notre Dame, where alumni and their families helped the less fortunate members of the surrounding community.  He was also an avid reader, cartoonist, and train enthusiast and took pride in his collection of Green Mountain Railroad model boxcars and engines.

Jonathan is survived by his wife of 44 years, Anne Foley, and their five adoring children: Timothy, John, Martin, and Bryan of Lexington, MA, and Michael (and Christina) of Medford, MA. He also leaves behind his parents, Eugene and Jeanette, and his five siblings: Christine Kenny-Sheputis of Berwyn, IL; Gene (and Julie) Kenny of Elgin, IL; Mary Helen Hanessian of Mason, WV; Jeff (and Lisa) Kenny of Chicago, IL; and Linette Jensen of Lyman, SC.

Arrangements are by the Clifford Funeral Home in Rutland, VT. Private burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.