Death of William Todd Kinnan

                                                                                      Billy Kinnan at his dog grooming business in Wyoming in 2003
******************************
On 17 August 2009 William Todd Kinnan, the grandson of our spotlight ancestor Elizabeth Krise Hott, died of a sudden heart attack in Casper, Natrona, Wyoming, United States. Billy was born in Revloc, Cambria, Pennsylvania, United States on 23 July 1961. He had just celebrated his 48th birthday. It is very sad to hear of the death of one so young. Billy was a dog groomer who worked in Casper. He and his wife Carol also raised prized dogs and showed them in competition. Billy was carrying heavy sacks of dog food from his vehicle to the house. The exertion ust have triggered a massive heart attack.

This writer is very sad to learn of her nephew's death. He was born when I was in college and was my little baby when I would come home from York, PA, to visit my family in Ebensburg and Revloc, PA. I was too poor to use the turnpike, so as I traveled over the mountain, I would stop at a gift shop up in the Tuscarora Mountains and buy little porcelain dogs for Billy. He loved dogs and other animals from the time he was born.
The Kinnans' father died as a young man and left this beautiful family behind for Eleanor to rear. Here while Joe was still alive, they visited Sylvia and Patchel Landis in Hellam, PA. Eleanor is holding Richard, Karen is in front of Jeffrey, Joe Kinnan is holding Greg and Billy. Photo by Sylvia H. Sonneborn

Billy was the son of Joseph Edgar and Eleanor (Hott) Kinnan. He had siblings Joey Dounglas (died as an infant), Jeffrey, Karen, Susan (died as an infant), Greg, and Richard. Here is a family photo:

The Kinnans - Karen with Baby Richard, Billy in center, Jeff holding Greg.

Bill was born with two thumbs, and one grew and the other one stayed small, and he used to suck on that thumb. Eventually, the second thumb was removed. He was such a pretty little boy with blond hair and blue eyes. On the day that JFK was assassinated, early in the morning, he was riding his little bike in the living room, and it was early in the morning. He got all excited and called to his mother and told her that the President had been shot. He was only a little over 2. His mother ran in from the kitchen and listened to the news and told Billy he had imagined it. He insisted that he had heard that news, and it was only about 7:00 a.m. Later that day, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas, hours after Billy had told his mother the President had been shot. Billy's mother maintained that that story was true and that Billy had seen a vision.

In happier days, the Kinnans were visiting Aunt Betsy and Uncle Bill Hawthorne in Johnstown, PA. Great Uncle Ben is in the background. Jeff, Rrichard, Karen, Greg, and Billy all loved each other and the older ones took care of the younger ones. Aunt Sylvia snapped this phot with her Polaroid camera.

Bill eventually set up a dog groomig business in the Johnstown area, but Crone's disease almost took his life. After he recovered, Bill eventually left the Revloc area and followed his dream of having a dog grooming business in Casper, Wyoming. There he met Carol, who was also a dog lover, and they spent their free time raising and showing champion dogs. His brother Greg Kinnan went to Wyoming, and they lived close to each other. Billy's death is a loss to our family, but we know that he has been received in the next life by his parents and grandparents. Dear, Billy, we will miss you.
Some candids of Baby Billy with his older brother Jeff and sister Karen and one with their dad Joe Kinnan: