Betty Jo Kenney

Betty Jo Kenney died on March 22, 2011 at 82 years old. She was born to Oscar and Laura Mooney in Bunker, Missouri, on May 23, 1928, and grew up in Fredericktown, Missouri. She married Reverend Lester Kenney of Auburn, Washington in 1950. After pastoring for seven years, they served as Assemblies of God missionaries to Southeast Asia for 42 years, living in the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Jo served as a pastor’s wife, Bible College educator, speaker and counselor. She spoke on Family Issues at international conferences in Seoul, Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; Moscow, Russia; and Manila, Philippines. She was also an editor and writer with three books and more than a hundred articles, short stories and poems published. She received her diploma from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri; a BA from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington; and an MA in Social Science from Azusa Pacific University, California (all summa cum laude). She was a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. After retirement she lived in Issaquah, Washington, and was a member of The Neighborhood Church in Bellevue for about 20 years.

Jo is survived by her son David (wife Gigi) of Jakarta, Indonesia, and daughter Joy (husband Don) Fitzwater of Bellevue, Washington, and two granddaughters, Isabel Kenney and Laura Fitzwater Gonzales. Her sisters Alberta Holt of Dallas, Texas, and Mildred Hedicke of St. Charles, Missouri, survive her. She was preceded in death by her husband Lester in 1994, three brothers, Rod, Elbert and Albert Mooney, and sister, Vera Mosier.

In her own words she wrote “I wanted to be a teacher from early childhood and had the joy of teaching more than 50 years. I wanted to serve God as a missionary from age 16, and was an active missionary in Southeast Asia for 42 years, never once regretting my choice, but delighting in service to God and to people of all ages. God, my husband and my children were the delight of my life. My granddaughters always brought me blessing, never sorrow.”

Flowers or memorial funds can be sent to The Neighborhood Church, 625 140th Ave NE, Bellevue WA 98005. Monetary gifts will be given to the missions projects that she supported and loved.

Arrangements under the direction of Sunset Hills Funeral Home, Bellevue, WA.