William “Bill” Kinney passed away peacefully at UVMMC on 12.31.2021 at the age of 92 surrounded by his loving family. He was born on March 15, 1929 in East Fletcher, son of May and Carl Kinney. Bill had one sister, Nellie LaBrie.
Bill learned the value of hard work growing up on a farm at a young age. At sixteen years old, he regularly drove milk trucks to Boston. There was no interstate, so the travel was long, and the roads were not the best.
A few years later, Bill met the love of his life, Nancy Whitcomb of Essex Center. They went to the local Chicken Coop in Jericho at the beginning of their courtship, where Nancy’s brothers Jack, George & Harold chaperoned. It was love at first sight, and they married after a brief courtship on August 15, 1951. Early in Bill’s career, he was a military man, and the couple moved to Georgia for some time as Bill became a paratrooper. He was a member of the 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and a Korean War Veteran.
They moved home to Vermont and settled in Fletcher, where they had twin sons, John and Robert, and a daughter, Susan Kinney. Bill was a hardworking businessman from a very young age and wore many hats throughout his career. He was a truck driver, cattle dealer, Representing Eastern States Farmer’s Exchange with a store in Cambridge Junction selling farm supplies and operating as a slaughterhouse partner in Hyde Park. In the early 1960s, Bill found a deal he could not pass up, so he made an offer, moving his family to Jeffersonville, where Bill and Nancy became the owners and operators of the Highlander Motel. Bill also served as a director for thirty-four years on the board of the Union Bank and eleven years as a director for VT Electric Cooperative’s board. Becoming the Patriarch of the family.
When Bill was not working his various jobs he enjoyed dabbling in maple syrup making, ice fishing, gardening, traveling to the Maine coast for lobster, and playing a game or two of cribbage with dear friends.
He was a financial genius, always paying attention to the stock market and providing his friends and family financial advice. He always put the needs of others above his own, making sure his family and community had what they needed to succeed. Bill was a frugal man who said it best, “I never wanted to get a taste for the good stuff.”
Bill was known to many as a headstrong family man teaching his children to be just as thoughtful and generous as he was to the community he loved. Bill was also a Mason and member of the American Legion and Deacon of the Second Congregational Church in Jeffersonville.
For many years Bill has cared for his wife Nancy, always being there for her every moment. He took his wedding vows seriously, and they were the definition of true love. Nancy once described their love, “I need Bill with me, I cannot paddle the canoe alone.”
Bill is survived by his loving wife Nancy of 70 years. His daughter Susan Kinney Wyckoff and devoted son-in-law Larry Wyckoff. Son Robert’s life partner David Marceau. Grandchildren, Ben Wyckoff and partner Katie Farnham, Dan Wyckoff, Laura Kinney and fiancé Trever Lumbra, Kristy (Wyckoff) Marsh, and husband, Cody Marsh. Many great-grandchildren were the light of his eyes, Madison Wyckoff, Liam Wyckoff, Zophia, and Bjorn Wyckoff, Khloe and Landon Farnham, many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents Carl and May, sister Nellie, and his twin sons John and Robert.
We would like to thank Mary Jane Machia and the nurses and doctors at UVMMC who took care of Bill in his final days.
A celebration of his life will be held in the spring.
Memorial contributions in Bill’s memory can be made to Second Congregational Church P.O. Box 40, Jeffersonville, VT 05464 or Cambridge Rescue P.O. Box 431, Jeffersonville, VT 05464.