Judith Marie Kenny
October 01, 1939 - June 22, 2026
Obituary
MONONA - Judith Marie (Brown) Kenny, age 86, of Monona, WI passed away peacefully at home on Monday, June 22, 2026. She was born on October 1, 1939, in Garber, OK, the daughter of Warren and Lucy (Aucoin) Brown.
Judith (Judi) graduated as class president and valedictorian from Mount Carmel Academy in Wichita, KS in 1957. She studied music/piano at Northwestern State College in Alva, OK. She shined in many lead roles in the college’s theatrical productions, including as Joan of Arc in "The Lark" and as Abigail Williams in "The Crucible." So successful was she in her acting career at Northwestern that she changed her major to speech, drama, and English and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961. She was included in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges while at Northwestern; her dad did not like to waste money, but he did spend the money to buy that book because her name was in it. She was united in marriage to Thomas Kenny of Medford, OK on December 26, 1960, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alva, OK. They celebrated 61 years of marriage, the longest of any in her immediate family.
Judi began her career as an English teacher at different schools in southwestern Kansas until her children were born. Before her children were in school full-time, she resumed her education part-time, earning a Master of Arts degree in English Literature in 1974 from the University of Nebraska Omaha. From 1974 until 1979, she taught speech, drama, and English at Tri-Center High School near Neola, IA and produced several plays including "Flowers for Algernon." After moving to Wisconsin in 1979, Judi took various part-time teaching positions. In 1982, she began teaching speech and English full-time at Monona Grove High School in Monona, WI. She taught there until her retirement in 2001. She was passionate about teaching and found great joy in inspiring and encouraging her students. She cared deeply about her students and brought their stories home to our kitchen table. Her Tri-Center students often would come to our house impromptu, and she would welcome them in at all hours to visit.
Judi had a lifelong love of music and begged her parents for a piano. Her dad bought a piano from the wheat money he earned. She learned to play the piano and organ from a very young age and faithfully served as the organist at each church she attended. She loved classical composers and would often play piano pieces by Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin for her children. Of all things in the world, she felt nothing was more important than music, not even love; she said music is love and it is the language of the universe. She also read the classics avidly and repeatedly, especially if she were about to teach them. She taught them with a keen insight few possess into the imagery and symbolism layered throughout the stories. Among her favorites were “The Grapes of Wrath,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Breakfast of Champions.” Judi also wrote a profound and weighty novel “The Hex of Hemlock,” under the pen name Judith Ging, that explored the divisive issues and derogatory treatment that teachers and other educators like herself faced in the education system.
Judi is survived by her daughters, Anne Kenny (James Werth) of Madison, WI, Angela Thibault (James Thibault) of Madison, WI, and Amy Kenny of Monona, WI; her son, Thomas (Tammi) Kenny IV of N. Sioux City, SD; her grandchildren, Kevin Werth (Ashley Pearson) of DeForest, WI, Maya (Patrick) Howey of Tacoma, WA, Kali Thibault (Tanner Rasmussen) of Tacoma, WA, Thomas Kenny V of Sioux Falls, SD, Jacob Kenny of Sioux Falls, SD, Kate Kenny of Minneapolis, MN, Samuel Shebani of Monona, WI, and Adam Shebani of Monona, WI; her great-grandson Oliver Pearson-Werth of DeForest, WI; her sister, Elizabeth Edmonds of Houston, TX.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Warren and Lucy; her husband, Thomas; her brothers, Warren Jr., Richard, Robert, Thomas, Gerald, Jackie, and Joseph.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at CATHEDRAL OF ST. BERNARD PARISH CENTER, 2438 Atwood Ave., Madison, on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 11 a.m. with her nephew, Father Warren Brown, presiding. Burial will take place at Roselawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026, and also at the Cathedral from 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Judith Kenny Scholarship fund set up by her former student, Jeff Kuhl. Funds may be sent to Monona Grove High School, 4400 Monona Drive, Monona, WI 53716, Please make funds payable to Monona Grove High School in reference to the Judith Kenny Scholarship--Attention: Michelle Boyd.
Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420