Kenneth Jenkins

Kenneth Clyde Jenkins (1930-2017)

Mr. Kenneth Clyde Jenkins passed away on December 31, 2017. The visitation and memorial service will be held at Hartsell Funeral Home (460 Branchview Drive, NE) in Concord, NC at 1 pm Thursday January 4, 2018, followed by burial in the Concord Oakwood Cemetery.

Kenneth was born in Harrisburg, NC (September 15, 1930) to Grover Cleveland Jenkins and Nan Ledbetter Jenkins, and was raised by his mother and stepfather, Coleman Franklin Lowder, in the Concord area. He enjoyed fishing, swimming, horseback riding, and playing with his older siblings — Harold Cleveland Jenkins, and Gloria Jean Jenkins.

Ken graduated from Winecoff High School in 1948, and he lettered in football. He married Kaylene Tucker (of Concord) in the early 50s, served in the US Army for several years, and then settled in Gastonia, NC in the 1950s as an employee of Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company until his retirement in 1988.

Ken is the devoted father to Kenneth Stewart Jenkins of Gastonia, Howard Ashley Jenkins of Gastonia (and his wife Barbara Robinson Jenkins), and Susan Jenkins Sumner Fennell of Raleigh (and her husband Timothy Raymond Fennell). He loved exploring the outdoors and spent endless hours camping, fishing, hiking, bike riding, Jeep riding, outdoor cooking, and gardening with his family.

He was an active member of Myers Memorial Methodist Church in Gastonia, NC in the 1960s and 1970s, and an assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 21 in the 1970s.

Ken is the proud grandparent of Seth Tucker Jenkins (and his wife Brittany Tate Jenkins) of Anderson, SC; Katie Reid Jenkins Wolfgang (and her husband Josh Wolfgang) of Rensselaer, New York; Zachary Baker Jenkins of Anderson, SC; Ashley Zebulon Jenkins of Charlotte, NC; Emily Macourt Jenkins Fennell of Chapel Hill, NC; and Michael Kenneth Hugh Fennell of Raleigh, NC.

The family is grateful to Paul and Cindy Freeman of Albemarle, NC for the friendship and compassionate support they showed to Ken during his most challenging years.