PORTLAND – Robert Andrew “Andy” Kinney, a Portland resident, died unexpectedly March 9, 2004. Andy was born Aug. 16, 1953, in Fort Fairfield. He graduated from Easton High School in 1971 and received an associate of science degree in resource and business management from the University of Maine at Orono in 1973. After graduation, Andy returned to Aroostook county where he co-farmed with his father, and subsequently purchased a farm owned by his maternal grandfather, Hiram Everett Towle. Andy went to work as a rural mail carrier for the Kennebunk Post Office from 1991-1997. He had since been self-employed in the Kennebunk and Portland areas. Andy Kinney was a selfless human being, always putting his loved ones’ interests above his own. During Maine winters, when his children and their cousins were young, he would think of them first, turning any significant amount of snow into a fort, and igloo, a sled track or a sculpture. Their imaginations were the limit, and he was a reliable and steadfast aid to their every childish whim. Andy was not only creative, but very pragmatic and logical. He could construct or repair anything he set his hands upon, truly a jack-of-all-trades. Andy seemed to draw people towards him. His non-judgmental attitude had a way of making his company feel nothing but comfort. Andy was a sensitive and compassionate individual and always a strong ally when you were feeling low. He had an amazing ability to empathize, cultivated by more than his fair share of hardship. If you let him see that you were hurting, he would pull up a chair and make himself comfortable. Everything stopped for Andy if you were in pain, and nothing was resumed until he brightened your spirits. Then, with a smile that would melt a person’s heart, Andy would happily resume what he was doing, needing no recognition for his comforting actions. He would leave you feeling better, happy to be a sponge for your negative emotions. There are many things one could learn from Andy, but if you had to highlight just one lesson, it would be to take every problem, every difficult situation, and see each one as a solution-to-be. Every obstacle that Andy overcame was accomplished with more efficacy than most could summon because Andy had always seemed to have an unspoken credo: every problem is temporary. Andy, you struggled through a great deal of adversity in your life, and you persevered bravely for so long. You are respected and admired for your great endurance. We love you, and we always will. Andy is survived by his two sons, Adam and Aaron Kinney of Bangor; his daughter, Sarah Kinney of South Portland; his father, Harold Kinney of Presque Isle; his brother, Van Kinney of Chantilly, Va.; his three sisters, Lorraine Kinney Adams of Newport News, Va., Jane Kinney of Bangor, Sara Kinney Dennis of Hanover, N.H.; and seven nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his mother, Kathryn Towle Kinney; and his nephew, Joshua Lee Kinney. Andy will be interred at the Easton (Maine) Memorial Cemetery later this year.
ROBERT ANDREW KINNEY
