Rhea Margaret (Steen) Kenyon

Rhea Margaret (Steen) Kenyon was born during a blizzard on October 10, 1925, near Two Dot, Montana on the American Ranch where her father, Plummer Jonas Steen, was the ranch foreman and her mother, Mabel Hale Cummings Steen, was the assistant cook. Rhea was delivered by Mrs. Carver, the main cook. When Rhea was four years old her parents moved her and her younger sister Irma to Evanston, Illinois where the girls attended grade school and high school. College days were at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority. This is where the men on campus ate and where she met her husband to be, Irving Hicks Kenyon. He was a Navy veteran attending on the G.I. Bill. They became engaged within a week and were married on August 30, 1947, in Evanston, Illinois.

Their married life began in Champaign, Illinois where Irving was pursuing degrees in Chemistry and History at the U of I. Just shy of a master’s degree, he felt a calling to the ministry and enrolled in Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston. During their 35-year career in ministry, they served in 10 communities at 23 churches throughout central Illinois touching many lives and making lifelong friends. Their ministry was marked in a large part by volunteerism in the local community such as participating in sandbagging at the Mississippi River levee near Burlington, Iowa just before it broke, and everyone gunned their engines to beat the flood waters; umpiring at the ballpark; volunteering with the firemen; or supporting the community ice cream socials and other events. Another memorable event in their ministry was their participation as one of the leaders of a church mission trip to Babb, Montana near the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Rhea enjoyed a full life as a minister’s wife as well as working in many different jobs over the years as they moved from city to city. She held positions in college campuses, corporate administrations, local home extension services, State government job services, and many other various occupations. She was a dedicated employee who was admired and respected for her work ethic, kindness, fairness, and intelligence.

From an early age, she had developed interests and talent in creative endeavors. She was an accomplished artist, having taken lessons at the Art Institute in Chicago and continuing at local colleges and studios as they were available in the various communities to which their ministry led them. She was a person who cared very much about the welfare and safety of others. She took pride in her endeavors and created paintings that showed her talents in color design and positive surroundings. Rhea held sewing classes from her home through the home extension services in one of their church communities; did murals and all trim work in a brand new parsonage being built in another; enjoyed painting the many scenes around the countryside, urban sites, and everything in between from living in communities as diverse as college settings, governmental centers that cultivated and promoted the arts and cultural awareness, and the beautiful farming communities where some of the world’s richest land has been worked by generations of the same families. She made time to lead a Boy Scout troop, sew homecoming and prom dresses, raise countless special puppies, and infuse that love of animals in the hearts of her children. She and Irving loved nature and camping (not “glamping”!) and were blessed to experience much of God’s creation in the State and National Parks, first with tents and sleeping bags, graduating to a “pop-up” trailer on several wonderful family vacations. This sense of wonder and appreciation and experiencing has passed on to their children who were always encouraged to be open to diverse adventures and people wherever they lived or traveled.

Rhea loved traveling and sightseeing, from honeymooning on the lake of Wisconsin Dells to taking an airboat through the Florida Everglades, on a cruise ship up the New England coastline to Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia; window shopping in NYC and Chicago, especially at Marshall Fields during Christmas; to riding through Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World;” or taking a steamboat ride in the Smokey Mountains; and parasailing in Fort Myers Beach. She was always willing and happy to learn, explore and share her love of experiencing new, beautiful, and inspiring things, not to forget having fun!

Rhea Margaret (Steen) Kenyon will be remembered as a devoted servant of God with her loving husband Irving and as a self-sacrificing encouraging mother by her daughters, Kathleen Kenyon of Springfield and Sonya (Roy) Voyles of Virden; son, Robert Jeffrey Kenyon of Peoria; proud and encouraging grandma to Heather (Mike Baker) Voyles of Thayer and Jonathon Voyles of Virden; by her sister, Irma Stoll, a retired missionary to Brazil living in Ashford, CT; her nephews Dan (Mary) Stoll with their children Stephen, Melissa, and Christopher in NY; and Will Stoll with his daughters, Sarah and Sophie in CT.

She was preceded in death by her husband, The Reverend Irving H. Kenyon on July 27, 1990; her parents; her brother-in-law, The Reverend William A. Stoll; and her many beloved dogs from Happy through Mr. Koala Soot (Sootie) Kenyon, plus several granddogs and cats.

Rhea followed her husband’s lead to further the advances of life-saving research by donating her remains to the Anatomical Gift Association. There will be no services. A private interment of her and her husband’s cremated remains will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Preachers’ Aid Society and Benefit Fund, 5900 S. 2nd St., Springfield, IL 62711, St. John’s Hospital Hospice Program, 800 E. Carpenter, Springfield, IL 62769, or the Animal Protective League, 1001 Taintor Rd., Springfield, IL 62702.

The family wishes to express their gratitude for the HSHS Hospice Program and its many dedicated, caring professionals and for good friends who gave gentle, caring services to their mother this past year, as well as to the staff of Boardman-Smith Funeral Home for their compassion and guidance.

The family is being served by Boardman-Smith Funeral Home, 800 South Grand Avenue West, Springfield, IL.