Obituary

Elizabeth phillips kenna, known as betty, died july 13, 2018 in her home at edgewood summit, a retirement community in charleston, wv. She was 92.

She was born september 8, 1925 in tientsin (now tianjin), china, where her father was stationed in us army intelligence, to colonel walter c. Phillips (from buckhannon, wv) and ruth edward mohler phillips (from st albans, wv).

She proudly referred to herself as an “army brat”, as her family was transferred nearly every two years and she grew up all over the united states. This experience influenced her and gave her the independence, confidence and competitive spirit that characterized her life. With each move, she was tested in a new school system and advanced in grade, with the result that she graduated high school at the age of 16, two years ahead of her peers.

She attended private school in brooklyn, ny, when her father was stationed at fort hamilton, ny, and enjoyed taking the subway with her friends to new york city and coney island at a time when new york was a much safer place for teenagers to explore on their own. When her father was transferred to pearl harbor, hawaii as general walter short’s chief of staff, she attended stuart hall preparatory school in staunton, va and was named “most athletic” upon graduation.

She was a freshman at the university of hawaii on dec, 7 1941, when the japanese attacked pearl harbor. With her mother, brother phil (walter c. Phillips, jr.), and other military families, she spent the nights following the attack in underground tunnels to insure their safety in the event of invasion. During the day, she assisted hospital personnel treating those burned and wounded in the attack. The charleston gazette-mail published several accounts of her experiences as a pearl harbor survivor.

In january of 1942, she moved with her mother to charleston, wv and lived in apartments then owned by the mohler family on kanawha blvd. While attending first presbyterian church she met lee mountcastle kenna, who would become her husband. They married june 12, 1944 and moved to minnesota, where he attended japanese language school in preparation for the allies’ invasion of japan; he later served as an interpreter in support of the japanese war crimes trials.

While lee was stationed in japan, she attended hollins university, in roanoke, va. Initially, she studied physics and mathematics, but ultimately graduated with a degree in fine arts. It was at hollins that she began studying art and painting, which would become her lifelong passion.

While her husband was overseas, she gave birth to their first son, (lee mountcastle, jr.), bought their first house and joined the first presbyterian church in charleston, wv. After the war, three more children were born. (carolyn perry, katherine phillips and joseph edward).

While raising their family in charleston, mrs. Kenna devoted herself to athletics and community leadership. A natural athlete and competitive amateur tennis player, she won numerous women’s singles and doubles titles at edgewood country club, the city of charleston, and kanawha county. She served as president of the junior league of charleston and initiated and co-chaired the first wv state conference on voluntarism. She also served as president of the children’s museum at sunrise, president of the children’s home society of wv, and president of the kanawha valley senior services. She became the first president of the black diamond girl scout council and was a member of the rock hill garden club.

Mrs. Kenna served as a member of the board of trustees of the mohler lumber company for a number of years. She also actively supported her husband’s political campaigns, ultimately traveling the state in support of his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1972.

When lee retired from practicing law in 1984, they bought a home in bears paw country club in naples, florida, where they spent the winters. Although she took up golf late in life, she competed successfully in club and wv state tournaments against women many years younger than she.

After lee’s death in 1997, she moved to edgewood summit and focused on developing her skills as an artist. She took many painting classes, both in naples, fl; and from instructors who came to teach in the edgewood summit art studio. One of her paintings, entitled “lee’s gardenia” was awarded a prize at a juried competition at the van leibig art center in naples. Her body of work ranged from life studies and sculpture to portraits, and pastel and oil paintings of landscapes, birds, flowers and trees. Overall, she completed nearly 100 works of art, many of which have been exhibited at edgewood summit and have been given to her children and grandchildren. Her children compiled a composite of her work and published it in a book they presented to her shortly before her death.

In charleston, she was a long-term member of the first presbyterian church, edgewood country club, the clay center (and a member of the collectors club), the charleston light opera guild, and the charleston symphony orchestra.

In naples, she was a member of the moorings presbyterian church, bears paw country club, the naples philharmonic and the naples museum of art.

She also served on the alumni board, and as an alumni trustee for hollins university.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband lee m. Kenna and her brother walter c. Phillips jr.

When asked about her life, she said that of all she had done, she was proudest of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and took pleasure in watching their growth, development and success. She wanted to make sure that they were aware of and appreciated their west virginia heritage. For her 85^th birthday, she hosted them all aboard a riverboat during charleston’s labor day sternwheel regatta, scheduled visits to many of charleston’s cultural and civic attractions, and arranged tours of three former kenna/phillips homes: “high grove”, the historic landmarked home of william e. Mohler and walter c. Phillips in st. Albans; the former kenna family home overlooking charleston on ashby avenue in fort hill; and the former home of judge jo n. And louise m. Kenna on swarthmore avenue in edgewood. And to reinforce the importance she placed on her family continuing to stay in touch, for her 90^th birthday, she hosted them all for a weekend celebration at the greenbrier, followed by a reception with her many friends at edgewood summit.

Her four children are: lee mountcastle kenna (cachi) from atherton, ca; carolyn tierney griesemer (jim) from denver, co; katherine kenna dodd combs (gerry), from west palm beach, fl and joseph edward kenna, from atlanta, ga.

Her 10 grandchildren are: lee ravenet (randy) kenna (laura); brian mountcastle kenna (ingrid); christine marguerite perez-jacome kenna (alberto); lewis clark tierney, iii (collette); lee mountcastle kenna tierney; christopher scott tierney (sara); lauren elizabeth dodd; allison mountcastle dodd, dallas yancey kenna and john edward kenna (mackenzie).

Her 12 great grandchildren are: ruby estelle, ephram joseph and maximo isaac kenna; isabella brigit and anja ravenet kenna; alberto, nicolas eduardo and lucia elizabeth perez-jacome kenna; ava rose tierney; and channing elizabeth, campbell clark and maris latterman tierney.

A team of exceptional caregivers managed betty’s last four years with great warmth, patience, kindness, professional skill and unfailing devotion. The kenna family will be forever grateful for the love and extraordinary care they provided her: darlene (dee) blackhurst, gunna early, tammy byrd, cosetta (cosi) chadwick, brenda fowler and morgan isaacs. The family also wishes to thank hospice care of wv for the invaluable service they provided in her last days.

Funeral service  will be held 11:00 a.M.  saturday, august 25,  at the first presbyterian church, 16 leon sullivan way, charleston, wv, with the reverend bill mccoy officiating.  a graveside service will immediately follow at sunset memorial park, 4301 maccorkle avenue sw.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial reception  afterwards,  from  2 to 4 p.M., at edgewood summit, 300 baker lane, charleston.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest contributions in her memory to hollins university, 7916 williamson road, roanoke, va 24020; first presbyterian church, 16 leon sullivan way, charleston, wv 25301 or the clay center, 1 clay square, charleston, wv 25301.

You may send condolences to the family at www.Barlowbonsall.Com or 372 baker lane, charleston, wv 25302.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by barlow – bonsall funeral home in charleston.