Kennis Alonza Ghee's Obituary
Kennis Alonza Ghee
September 5, 1955 – September 12, 2019
This is the story of Kennis Alonza Ghee. Kennis was an interesting and wonderful man that was loved, is missed, and will always be cherished.
Kennis’s story started on September 5, 1955, the second child to Robert and Marion Ghee. He was born at Fort Eustis in the city of Newport News, VA. His mother says he was a fussy little baby and would stay up half the night crying. Her neighbors could hear her up rocking him in the rocking chair while the chair went squeak, squeak, squeak…
Finally, the doctor told her that he was hungry so she started giving him a bottle and lo and behold he started sleeping through the night.
He was a happy little boy and loved playing with his older brother, Robert Jr. They would pull the wagon and ride their tricycles up and down the street.
His grandfather taught him to play checkers at an early age and Kennis became so good that Granddaddy could no longer beat him.
At the age of 5, his family relocated to Germany in 1960. They returned stateside in 1963 to Fort Lewis, WA. In 1967, they returned to Germany once again and when that tour was over, they returned to the State of Washington permanently and settled in the City of Tacoma in 1970.
At the age of 17, Kennis started working with traveling carnival shows which would go from city to city. When he would come back and visit home, he would tell his siblings all about his adventures and travel.
Kennis found himself in San Francisco when he was about 25 years old. He became a carpenter, which he was very proud of, and worked in drywall. He was in this line of work for the next seventeen years working in both San Francisco and Portland, Oregon.
In the mid to late 90’s, Kennis relocated back home to Washington State, where he settled in Seattle and became a Longshoreman with Local 19. He worked there until his retirement in 2019.
Throughout his adult life, Kennis had a love for the Lord that was palpable. He wanted everyone he met to know the Lord and evangelized on the streets up and down the West Coast. Upon relocating to Seattle, he joined an outreach church and continued his evangelism. There are probably hundreds of people who now know the Lord because they crossed paths with Kennis.
Kennis was a family man even though he had no family of his own. He doted on his nieces and nephews and was one of their favorite uncles. They loved to see him coming for Christmas because he never came empty handed! His favorite foods for Christmas were mincemeat pie and fruitcake.
Whenever someone in the family called on him for help, he would drop whatever he was doing and come running to help. He was never too busy for family.
Kennis’s favorite activities were evangelism, playing chess and playing his guitars.
He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Odell Ghee Sr,. his brothers, Robert Odell Ghee Jr., Darryl Wardell Ghee, and his sister Christie Diane Ghee.
He leaves to mourn his passing, his mother, Marion Louise Ghee, his brothers, Timothy Wayne Ghee (Ella), Lyle Edmund Ghee (Barbara), and his sisters, Sharilyn Marie Robinson and Sharon Denise Ghee. He also leaves behind a host of nieces and nephews.
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