Thomas Henry Kenny Jr. was born in Bridgeport, CT, on Jan. 12, 1918, and raised in Stamford. He served in the US Army Air Corps and Special Services in WWII. Afterwards he operated the family-owned Bridge Tavern on Mineola Blvd., and was the proprietor of the Nassau Gift Shop. Becoming a roofing contractor, he entered the post-war housing boom and formed Kenny Construction Corp. In 1949, he bought a new Cape Cod home for his wife, Stella, and two sons, Tom III and Mike.

Tom Kenny began a long and successful career in real estate in 1950, opening an office on Willis Ave. in 1952 with the assistance of Frank Acierno and Marjorie Serpico Irace (wife of former Mineola Village Trustee Izzy Irace), and later established an office on Jericho Tpke.

His interests ranged from art and antiques to prospecting. His locating a uranium deposit in Canada was told in a 1954 Newsday story. "Uranium may be pie-in-the-sky for LI Businessman." He was an acknowledged expert in land assembly, titles and zoning. In the 1960s and '70s, he built homes and developed land in Albertson, Stella Park, Glen Cove, Oak Tree Court, Roslyn Heights, South Floral Park and Washington Terrace Park, Plainview. Tom Kenny was the major proponent of the development of North Hills, where he built a home and resided for 17 years.

After leaving LI in 1979, he devoted most of his time to historical research, writing and continued painting. Today, his artwork is in the collections of over 400 museums and galleries throughout the world. He did extensive research on the sunken steamboats of the Missouri River and wrote historical articles for The Brunswicker (Missouri) Newspaper and Old Huntsville (Alabama) Magazine. He published over 100 articles and books in diverse subjects as: The Mining Guide to San Diego County, California and Slave Genealogy. His final accomplishment was to graduate magna cum laude from Oakwood College at age 82 in May 2001.

He was a unique personality, a multi-faceted creative individual who inspired others. Before his passing on Nov. 12, 2001 in Huntsville, AL, he said, "I've had a full life, I have no regrets."

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at Corpus Christi Church at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 12. Internment will follow at Holy Rood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Little Flower Children's Home, Wading River, NY, or Oakwood College, c/o Delbert Baker, Huntsville, AL 35806.