On January 17, 2005 at 10:00pm, my Dad, Kenneth Allison Greenhill Sr., lost his fight with terminal cancer, and passed away. He was 74 years old, and would have been 75 on February 10th.
He leaves behind a wife of 49 years (it would have been 50 in a couple of months), a daughter, and two sons, as well as five grandchildren. He spent his entire life serving, protecting, and teaching others. He served his country proudly in Korea for 4 years as an cryptographer in the United Stated Air Force, where he earned two medals for his service. He also protected the people of Victoria County as a Deputy Sheriff and an elected Constable for Precinct 2 for 15 years, retiring from law enforcement in 1996 at the young age of 66. Before that, Dad was also a college professor at Victoria College for almost 35 years., where he taught English Literature.
Dad had two Masters degrees, one in History and one in English, and only lacked his PHD by 6 hours. He was loved and respected by everyone who knew him, whether one of his thousands of students he taught, a colleague at one of his many jobs, or a person he had arrested and helped. He treated everyone with dignity and respect, and it was returned.
Among his many hobbies and interest were custom wood working, shooting, and reading about history , mostly World War II. He was a history buff and could answer just about any question imaginable about WWII and anyone in it, especially Winston Churchill.
Without a doubt , he was the most knowledgeable and educated man I have ever known, as well as the strongest. He survived a case of terminal cancer in 1987, and went on to continue in law enforcement for another 9 years. I could go on and on for hours about his athletic, academic, or career accomplishments, and not even scratch the surface of what he has done. Someday I hope to be half the man he was.
On Friday, we will take him back home to Hill County Texas, where he will be laid to rest with the rest of his family. Words can’t express how much he will be missed, but we are relieved that he isn’t in pain anymore, and will spend the rest of eternity in heaven.
We love you Dad. God Bless.