Vernon Wesley Kenny, 87, died March 31, 2018, in Palm Springs, Calif.
Vern was born April 4, 1930, in Chicago to Mahlon and Olive Kenney. As a teenager, Vern achieved Eagle Scout rank and attended the first post-war Boy Scout World Jamboree in Paris.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After serving stateside as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he finished his master’s degree at MIT and later earned an MBA from Rutgers. In 1957, while working for Esso in New Jersey, Vern met a young nurse from Minnesota named Gail Johnson and they married.
In 1959, Vern landed a job at 3M, and he and Gail moved to the Twin Cities. Vern spent the rest of his career at 3M. Among the highlights of his career was a two-year assignment with 3M’s photographic division on the Italian Riviera.
Vern and Gail had three children, Dave, Kris and Jan.
A memorial service was held May 19 at Falcon Heights United Church of Christ.
