Kenneth McKinney
Oct. 1, 1954 - March 27, 2010

Published in The Huntsville Times on March 29, 2010

Kenneth C. "Kenny" McKinney, 55, of Harvest passed away at his residence Saturday afternoon, surrounded by his loving family.

Kenny was born on Oct. 1, 1954 in Corinth, Miss. He graduated from Hazel Green High School in 1972 and accepted a football scholarship to Vanderbilt University, playing the following year.

Kenny then turned his focus to baseball, and in 1973 was a first round draft pick for the Chicago Cubs, but chose to stay in school. He then signed with Yavapai Junior College, where he played for 2 seasons and was named an all-American.

In 1975, Kenny transferred to Memphis State to play baseball for 2 more years. He was then drafted to play for the Oakland A's. For the last 26 years,

Kenny was employed by Primerica, working in insurance and stocks. In 2008, Kenny was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame.

Kenny is survived by his wife, Amy; sons, Tyler McKinney and wife Jennifer of Madison and Patrick McKinney and wife Whitney of Harvest; parents, Kenneth and Sara McKinney of Vernon; siblings and their spouses, Kathy McKinney of East Limestone, Scott and Stacy McKinney of Madison, Sally and Tim Wiygul of Tupelo, Miss., Beth and Tommy Herring of Gadsden, David and Michelle McKinney of Gordo; mother and father-in-law, Joey and Jerry Crick; brother and sister-in-law, Marty and Debbie Smith; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Asbury United Methodist Church, followed by a celebration of his life at 3:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude Children's Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Department 142, Memphis, TN 38148, Tribute Number 25846912, or the American Cancer Society, 2745 Bob Wallace Ave., Suite A, Huntsville, AL 35805.

Madison Chapel Funeral Home is directing the funeral. Online condolences may be made at madisonchapelfuneralhome. com.