Obituary: Kenneth Thoenes, 70

Kenneth Thoenes, an openly gay former Alexandria, Va. resident, died Dec. 23 in New Prague, Minn., after a battle with supranuclear palsy and a few years of overall declining health, according to his friend and former partner, Robert Carmean of Mesa, Ariz.

Thoenes was born Feb. 12, 1941 in Milwaukee. He was a 1959 graduate of South Milwaukee High School and served in the U.S. Army before graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He earned a master’s degree in library science from Louisiana State University and worked at the D.C. Public Library and for years at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Alexandria, Va. After retiring, Thoenes also lived in New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla.

“He brought much joy to others’ lives and there will be a large loss with his passing,” Carmean said.

Thoenes was preceded in death by his parents, the late Erwin Hugo and Marie Katheleen Thoenes and a brother, the late Erwin James. He is survived by a sister, JoAnn Lo, brother Gary, nieces Jennifer and Melisa and nephews James and Timothy.