Eulogy For KennyC.

(Memorial Service March 2013)

Like everyone here, I am heart-broken.

Kenny was exceptional - a fine man and a good friend.

Many people walk in and out of our lives, but only a few leave footprints on our hearts. Kenny was a good friend to all of us and has left his footprints on our hearts.

To Quote from Emerson:

To laugh often and love much

To win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children

To leave the world a bit better

To have played with enthusiasm and sung with exultation

To know even one life has been better because of how you have lived

This is to have succeeded...  

Kenny's life has surely been a great success...

   We will miss his smile, his wit, his ideas, and his caring

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I first met Kenny on a freezing cold Saturday morning in early March, around 1990, at the Big Eddy on the Skykomish River. For our first day of river-guide training, we floated the flat water from Big Eddy down to Sultan. We got snowed on. We got yelled at by this guy who seemed to be an Army Drill Sergeant. That guy was Kenny. I wasn't sure we were going to get along for the weekend. I sure had no idea of what great respect & friendship we would develop and share for many years after.

Our finest moments together always had some connection to running rivers.  At times, our river running experiences served as metaphors & models for the other aspects of our lives. Kenny taught me so much about his approach to running rivers... and I hope I taught him a few things about my approach to living other aspects of life. We cared about each other and watched-out for each other. We came to trust each other in a way that is  rare & special.

Kenny was there to help me become a good river guide and even “Sky Pilot” [1]. He shared so much of himself to help me be successful & accomplish my goals. Then, when I had my first chance to run the Colorado thru Grand Canyon, I got back home and had new experiences to share back to him. After all, he had been "on my shoulder" that entire trip... like a martial arts Sensei... guiding my thoughts and reminding me of key principles, as I scouted and successfully ran those big-water rapids.

When Kenny & Dana found each other, it was a joy to see their love & relationship develop. For a short while, when we were all centered in West Seattle, it was common to find Kenny & Dana & Tom & Annette out together having dinner or catching a movie or just hanging-out together far away from any rivers. And, it was a joy-filled day when Dana & Kenny got married, shared by many of us on the banks of the Skagit.

As years passed, life sent us down different paths and channels. But whenever we had a chance to chat and catch-up, those old bonds quickly re-formed. I was hoping to get back on the water this spring with Kenny, maybe for an April or May trip.  Maybe a chance to take a few of the kids down the river...

Now, I expect that any time I might get behind the oars,

   Or drive along the Wenatchee or Skykomish or Sauk or Skagit Rivers,

   Or pause to watch an Eagle or Heron in flight,

   Or reflect upon friendship and caring and trust,

   Or consider what makes for a great River Guide & and Great man,

   I will surely think of Kenny... and thank the river gods I had such a fine friend.  

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<paraphrase from an old song>

Anybody here seen my old friend, Kenny?

  Can you tell me where he's gone?

He Touched a lot of people,

  But it seems the good they die young

I just looked around and he was gone...

Didn't we love the things he stood for

Didn't he try to find the best in you & me

And now, Any time I'm on a river

I will wonder where he can be...

Anybody here seen my old friend, Kenny?

  Can you tell me where he's gone?

Thought I saw him sitting behind the oars one more time

  Floating down the river to the sea...  

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[1]  A “sky pilot” is a nickname given to those experienced river-guides in Western Washington who have earned the skills and trust to guide commercial passengers down the Boulder Drop section of the Skykomish River, near Index.