Merle Kenny

Merle M. Kenny died May 17, 2005 in Bismarck. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, May 23, 2005 at the Lutheran Church of the Cross. Burial will be at 3:00 PM at Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan. Visitation will be on Sunday, May 22, 2005 at Eastgate Funeral Service between the hours of 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.. A prayer service will be held at 5:00 P.M. Merle Kenny was born on May 24, 1921 at Montpelier, North Dakota, the son of Samuel and Leona Ihme Kenny. He was raised and attended grammar school near Jamestown, North Dakota and graduated from Steele High School in 1939. Merle entered the U.S. Army in October of 1942. He did his basic training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin and served with the Army Medical Corps in the United States and the Asiatic Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in January of 1946. Prior to entering the military, Merle completed two years at what is now North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. At the end of World War II, he studied drafting at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 1946, Merle returned to Steele, North Dakota where he met Rose Marie Simmons. They were married in Medina, North Dakota on December 24, 1947. In 1950, Rose and Merle moved to Bismarck, North Dakota where he was employed as a carpenter. In 1950, Merle founded Kenny Construction Company which he owned and operated until 1976. During its 26 years in business, Kenny Construction built many homes in the city of Bismarck. In 1976, Merle founded Deco Art Ornamental Iron. Deco Art has since been a participating contractor in the completion of many buildings and other projects throughout the state of North Dakota and the Midwest. Merle and his crew were particularly proud to have received both silver and gold awards for quality in design and workmanship, granted by the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association. Merle retired as owner of Deco Art in 1997, but remained busy with various woodworking projects. Merle was an active member of his church and community who loved music and was an avid fisherman. He was a member of the Lutheran Church of the Cross, the El Zagal Shrine, the Bismarck Contractor's Association, the Central Dakota Humane Society, the Amvets and the VFW. Merle was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Donald Kenny, and his sister and brother-in-law, Rosemary and Ernest Duke Lang. He is survived by his wife, Rose, his sister-in-law, Burnelle Kenny of Auburn, California, his daughter, Donna Kenny, his daughter, Linda Kenny of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and her friend, Dr. John DeMare.

Merle Kenny

May 24, 1921 - May 17, 2005