Hanceville, Alabama
Mr. Kinney passed away on Sunday, March 22, 2020, at St. Martin in the Pines Retirement Community in Irondale, Alabama at the age of 107. He experienced a fall earlier in the year and was hospitalized at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham for several weeks. He recovered enough to return to St. Martin’s but was unable to regain the good health that he had known all of his life. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday morning.
He was born on November 24, 1912 in Hanceville, Alabama to Daniel Kinney and Agnes Marshall Kinney. He was the fourth of 12 children in the family. His father was an immigrant from Northern Ireland who worked as a coal miner and a farmer and his mother was an immigrant from Scotland.
Mr. Kinney was raised on the family farm on Stouts Mountain in Hanceville and educated at the Center School. He trained as an electrician at the Coyne Electrical School in Chicago.
Mr. Kinney was employed as an electrician at U.S. Steel’s Fairfield works for almost 30 years. He was a member of the United Steelworkers Union.
Mr. Kinney was a veteran of World War II and served in the Army Air Corps as a Military Police Officer and overseas as a member of a company stationed in Burma. Eight of Mr. Kinney’s siblings also served in the military during the war.
Mr. Kinney married Alma Magdalene Grabber of Cullman on October 30, 1950. They made their home in the Powderly section of Birmingham until 1969 and together raised four children there. During their time in Birmingham, Mr. Kinney was a devoted member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic parish in West End. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Holy Name Society.
Mr. Kinney and his family moved to a farm on Stouts Mountain in Hanceville in 1969. He joined St. Boniface Catholic Church in Hanceville and loyally attended Sunday mass there well into his 90’s.
After retiring from U.S. Steel in 1973, Mr. Kinney became a full-time farmer and cattleman. He cultivated a large and varied vegetable garden for many years and the tomatoes he produced were widely praised. He became a caregiver to his elderly mother until her death at age 99.
In their later years, Mr. Kinney and his wife enjoyed visits with their children and grandchildren and shared a number of vacations with their lifelong best friends, Margaret and Carl Grabber.
When his wife suffered a disabling heart attack, Mr. Kinney became her primary caregiver and for over two years, he lovingly administered to her health needs until she passed away in 1995.
Mr. Kinney remained at his home on Stouts Mountain until 2011. He then moved to the Monarch Place Senior Living facility in Hanceville. Two years ago, a decline in mobility led him to move to the skilled nursing facility at St. Martin in the Pines in Irondale.
Mr. Kinney was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Alma Grabber Kinney; his brothers Daniel, Thomas John, Archie, Michael, James and Anthony Kinney; and his sisters Margaret Grabber, Anne Peterson, Katherine Morgan and Mary Monroe.
He is survived by his children, Daniel (Susan) Kinney, Rita (John) DiBella, Martha (Gary) Wells, and Patrick (Judy) Kinney, Jr.
He also survived by seven grandchildren, Katherine DiBella Cockey, Patrick DiBella, Claire Kinney Scherzer, Emily Wells Cross, Joseph Kinney, Bridget Wells, and Mary Kinney.
And by five great-grandchildren, Levi, John and Lydia DiBella, and Patrick and Caroline Kinney.
And by his brother and sister-in-law, Gabriel and Elena Kinney and a host of nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to extend gratitude to the caregivers of Cottage A at St. Martin in the Pines Retirement Center and the nursing staff in the Surgery Intensive Care Unit at St. Vincent’s Hospital. The family also wishes to thank those current and former staff members and residents at Monarch Place Senior Living in Hanceville who enriched Patrick’s life through their friendship and love.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the funeral service will be private. Patrick will be laid to rest at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Cullman, next to Alma and near to Carl and Margaret.
A celebration of Patrick’s life will take place at a future date.
