December 25, 1953 — December 28, 2023
Kenny Johnson was born and raised in Chicago. He also lived in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In 2007, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, with his wife, Vicki. He and Vicki were married for 20 years. Sadly, Vicki passed away on March 12, 2021.
Kenny was a very gregarious person who loved eating out in different restaurants with friends. He enjoyed drinking Bud Lite and smoking his cigars, usually the slim ones. He got a thrill dining on a boat while sailing across the waters of Oahu.
He was a voracious reader and enjoyed downloading audio books from BARD and sharing the story with friends. His favorite authors included James Patterson, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Lee Child, Vince Flynn, John Sanford, Don Pendleton, Richard Marcinko, Nelson DeMille, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, and the list goes on. You could find him sitting down by the bench in the yard near the parking lot where he and Vicki lived, relaxing by reading the audible books he downloaded from BARD/NLS using his Victor Reader Stream.
He enjoyed listening to music with Vicki. His favorite artists included Elton John and a number of blues singers. He loved listening to jazz and classic rock. Call it premonition, he loved singing the song by Tim McGraw entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." He knew some of the lyrics and tried singing along.
When he and Vicki came to Hawaii, he initially worked as a sales associate with Blind Vendors Ohana (operated by three blind vendors under the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program) at the Honolulu International Airport. In 2009, he got to operate his own vending facility as a licensed blind vendor at Camp Smith, a military facility.
Aside from joining the Hawaii Association of the Blind, ACB, and RSVA, he was also a member of the Pearl City Lions Club in Hawaii. He just loved being with people and sharing life.
He was very unassuming and generous. He did not hesitate to donate to fundraising projects when he knew it was for a good cause — especially for the blind. He made a bid for bourbon balls at one of the past ACB auctions, where he won the item for $500!
He joined a number of ACB Community calls on his iPhone. He was loved by many in the ACB Community. He would attend calls at 4:00 in the morning Hawaii time. He even attended a call while in his death bed in the hospital. ACB Community participants sang happy birthday to him on December 25, 2023! No one knew he was ill.
Aside from working as a blind vendor under the Randolph Sheppard Program, he was also a professional stand-up comedian. He loved performing and sharing his talent to make people laugh and enjoy themselves. His last stint was at the Warriors' Lounge inside the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki.
When you get the chance, watch one of his performances by clicking here: