Kennard Wellons

Born in Laurel Mississippi in the depths of the Great Depression on December 15, 1933 to John Clifton Wellons, Sr. and Patsy Watson Wellons – the family relocated to Jackson, Mississippi. They lived on Valley Street in West Jackson, just off Capitol Street for most of his early life. He was the middle child of 3 and is predeceased by both his older brother John Clifton Wellons, Jr. and his younger sister, Joy Wellons Wiltshire.

Kennard grew up in Jackson his entire life and was an academic and sports star at Barr Elementary, then Enoch Junior High School, and Central High School, where he graduated in 1952. He was a football and baseball letterman, but excelled on the football field. Wellons was quarterback of the Central High School State Championship teams in 1949 & 1950 and runner-up in 1951. He was selected First Team All-Big 8/All State in 1951. These teams included stars such as Billy Kinard, Billy Beard, Bill Lynch, George Rice, Billy Yelverton, Benny Kirkland, and Julius “Bro” Ridgeway. As the 1952 CHS Yearbook states, “On the gridiron Kennard has certainly proved his ability. Besides football, he is noted for his good looks, sly sense of humor and happy-go-lucky manner.”

After graduation from Central, Kennard went to Mississippi State for one semester, but withdrew after his father’s business – Wellons Cleaners – suffered a disastrous fire. After helping his father recover, he followed his older brother John into the U.S. Air Force. He served our country with distinction through the end of the Korean War – notably evacuation & supply missions in and out of Seoul. Wellons then returned to Jackson in 1954 and enrolled at Millsaps College. There he again played football, albeit this time as a very undersized DE/TE. He was also a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and numerous other campus organizations. He loved Millsaps – so much so that he sent his son there (class of 1990.) He always spoke very fondly of his memories of living on campus in the basement of Buie Gym on the G.I. Bill. Wellons then graduated from Millsaps in 1958 with a B.S. in Geology and set on graduate school. However, a sharp downturn in oil prices that year turned him from Geology to Social Work.

Due to the recession that year, Kennard was unable to find graduate scholarships or work in Geology, but was offered a full scholarship to the Masters of Social Work program at Tulane University in New Orleans. He and one of his oldest friends from Jackson and Millsaps, Dr. John Awad enrolled together and were best friends and roommates their entire time at Tulane. Kennard graduated at the top of his MSW class in 1961. There he met his future wife, Pat Blankenship, another MSW student at Tulane. They were engaged in 1960 and married on June 20, 1961 in Memphis – officiated by her brother Adrian, an ordained Baptist Minister.

In 1961, Kennard and Pat moved to Sonoma County California where he worked for the Sonoma State Hospital, part of the California mental health system alongside his lifelong friend and administrator Arthur Faro. He was a skilled clinician and was the first to try to specially treat dementia/Alzheimer’s and other special needs patients at the hospital. In 1967, Kennard was offered a chance to get into teaching, so after starting at University of California-Berkeley as an instructor for one year, they moved to Tempe, Arizona where Kennard was an assistant professor of Social Work at Arizona State University. Their only child, Bradley Dean Wellons was born there in November of 1968.

Ken returned to California and UC Berkeley in 1969 to do a Ph.D./DSW in Social Work and graduated with honors in 1973, with a specialization in Gerontology. The family then moved to Lexington where he was appointed an associate professor of Social Work & Gerontology at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. He was instrumental in helping Dr. William Markesbury and Dr. David Wekstein to establish what eventually became the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Dr. Wellons was one of the first faculty members to work with the Center when it was officially founded in 1979.

Dr. Wellons was one of the first researchers to bring computerized statistics and data analysis to the study of Gerontology and Social Work at UK and used these techniques to study the Kentucky elderly and nursing home populations. Dr. Wellons taught many courses in human development, human behavior and personality theory in addition to research methods and Aging. He was passionate about teaching – advising and mentoring thousands of students over the years. His office was legendary on campus for being messily packed floor to ceiling with books and papers but surprisingly organized – he knew where everything was. But, most importantly, Dr. Wellons had a special place in his heart for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially adult students and those struggling to overcome economic or environmental obstacles. To that end, he was dedicated to making Social Work education accessible to as many students as possible and taught MSW satellite campus night classes for years at Prestonsburg Community College and Northern Kentucky University.

He published one of the first books on Aging & Human Development, entitled On Aging; contributed to numerous textbooks, and published his Gerontology research in various academic journals. He returned to Seoul, South Korean with his fellow faculty member and friend, Paul Kim to do research and placement of Korean War orphans in the 1970’s. Another favorite project was the “Give your Kid a Hug today” campaign in the early 1980’s to reduce child abuse in Kentucky. He served the University on the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Council for years – last in 1998. He was promoted to full professor in 1988 and retired to emeritus in 2000 after 27 years on faculty at the University.

Kennard also served as a co-founder and later President of the Kentucky Association of Gerontology along with long time colleagues Dr. Linda Brassfield Kuder, L.C. Wolfe, and Dr. Lois Layne. He served on the board of the Bluegrass Area Agency on Aging and numerous State Advisory Boards for different governors and what is now the Kentucky Department of Aging & Independent Living.

Kennard was a lifelong Kennedy Democrat – always advocating for the rights of the elderly, minorities, women and children and those with disabilities – particularly those who could not speak for themselves. A native southerner, he became an outspoken opponent of age discrimination, disability discrimination, racism and segregation in the city of Lexington, the state of Kentucky and the South. He advocated for change from within – quietly opinionated, eloquent, diplomatic and very well liked and listened to by others. He was smart and well informed in both research & politics, much like his heroes – FDR, JFK and Bobby Kennedy.

Kennard and Pat moved to Lexington in August 1973 to 424 West Third Street – a historic 1700’s Federalist style house – which they renovated with the help of Architect David Spaeth. This house became one of the homes of their beloved “Third Street gang” and Northside neighborhood. He loved the character of older historic homes – and loved working on them – he renovated another historic Northside house at 117 North Limestone after divorce in 1987.

Ken was a wonderful, gregarious, outgoing person with a wry sense of self deprecating humor. He loved people. But he was also a bit of an iconoclast – he rode a motorcycle for years – the epitome of Fifties & early Sixties cool. He loved a good story – both listening and telling. He had what friends and family have called “Kennardisms” – funny sayings that made everyone laugh. Things like when he would finish a good dinner, he would say, “Another successful meal!” or, when trying not to cuss too much, say “ShitFire” or “Godalmightydamn” or his funny nicknames for people “Kiddo”, “BD”, “Gatch”, etc.

He loved sports – particularly University of Kentucky Basketball and Football – a UK season ticketholder for years. He loved attending all of his son Bradley’s soccer, baseball, debate and other sporting events, especially anything at Sayre School. He loved to hunt and fish, especially with old friends like Bob Sexton, Paul Raffoul, John Awad, Cliff Rushing or his son Bradley. He was an avid amateur photographer, taking hundreds of slides over the years. A Kennard Wellons slideshow was an event to remember – great pictures and even better commentary. He loved his family, both his own and his huge in law family – Blankenships – particularly when they would have family reunions. He liked being “cool” Uncle Ken to his many nephews and nieces. He loved the beach – especially Pensacola & Gulf Shores.

He lost his fun loving father Clifton “Pop” Wellons, far too soon to a heart attack in 1968, but adored his mother, Patsy “Mimi” Wellons. They talked and visited almost daily until the day she died, with him at her side. Finally, in 1998 he had one grandson and namesake with special place in his heart, Jackson Kennard Wellons. They had an incredible relationship – so much so that he would host his grandson for a week every summer out on the Anderson County farm where he retired. He lived the life of a “gentleman farmer” that he always wanted – the place where he could have as many dogs and assorted animals and do all of the fishing and hunting and being in nature that he loved.

However, ironically, Kennard was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. He had been fighting it for about the last 5 years, moving progressively from his own house on the farm, to an independent living facility, to assisted living, to finally the SE Louisiana War Veterans Home Alzheimer’s wing. Despite all of that, he was always in good spirits and he was doing well physically, in spite of his struggles to communicate. But he lost his last fight with Covid-19.

He is survived by his son, Bradley, daughter-in-law Rachel, his grandson Jackson, his nieces Eve Wellons, Sarah Wellons Laird, & Patti Wiltshire Reineke, his nephews Bob Wiltshire, & John Clifton “Jay” Wellons, III and their children. What an incredible life he led and such an incredible legacy he leaves behind.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Pat B. & Dr. Kennard W. Wellons Scholarship Fund at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work for first generation MSW students. Dr. Wellons was a long time full professor of Social Work at UK and Pat Wellons was a nationally recognized clinician, mentor, and supervisor to hundreds of UK College of Social Work MSW students in clinical placements and licensing.