Kenneth R. Towne

Granville, New York – In the small morning hours of Feb. 15, 2021, Kenneth R. Towne passed peacefully from this world in his home in Granville, New York. Across the Green Mountains and deep in the Adirondacks, deer, bears, turkeys and trout shuddered a sigh of relief. Kenny was a legendary sportsman with an equally legendary beard, a crack shot who didn’t believe in following blood trails but propounded “Heap Theory” (as in, one shot should put the buck in a heap). He could read rivers like supermarket tabloids, knowing each ripple, each riffle, each eddy will reveal a brookie’s most scandalous secrets with the delicately placed whisper of a dry fly.

His mountain-man wiles served him well his whole life, from his service as a Marine in Vietnam to his career as a corrections officer at the Great Meadow facility. Since his retirement, he devoted much of his time to the Freemasons with his brother Eric, his best friend and hunting partner.

Through both work and play, he provided well for his family: his devoted wife Paula, his loving daughters Sabrina and Sara and his cherished grandchildren Paul and Beatrice. His sisters Emily, Martha and Missy, his brothers Eric and Philip, his mother Evelyn and his daughters Lori and Rebecca survive him. He was predeceased by his son Kevin and father Raymond.

But he is survived by everybody, for he seemed to know everybody. No matter the time or town, no matter the store, restaurant or business, if you were out with Kenny you would be bound to meet one of his friends.

He loved good friends, rare steaks and fine bourbon. His cat Cinnamon loved the trout. Kenny and Paula had hoped for a spring Harley Road King trip to camp in Maine. But those thundering pipes have fallen silent, and he has run his last road.

Calling hours were from 3 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, at the Robert M. King Funeral Home, 23 Church St. Granville, New York. A Masonic service was held at 5:30 p.m.