Gregory (Greg) Kilkenny was born August 7,1957 at Providence Hospital in Kansas City, KS, and passed away Monday Sept 21, 2026 at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission at the age of 69.
He was preceded in death by his father Donald Francis Kilkenny, his mother Lena Vera and his sister Andrea Kilkenny. He is survived by his wife Vicki Kilkenny, his son Matthew and wife Iliana Kilkenny, his step daughters Lea Ann and husband Kyle Waters, Fatima Karami and partner Chris Stelzer, Rhianna Karami, his step son Ross and wife Kelsey Baker, his grandchildren Lilia Kilkenny, Victoria Kilkenny, Sophia Khosravi, Karen Stelzer, Emmalynn Waters, Jacob Kilkenny, James Baker, and Braven Waters, his brother Anthony and wife Annie Kilkenny, sister Julia Kilkenny, nephew and niece Brian Kilkenny and Cecely Kilkenny and husband James Riddle.
His sister Julia remembers:
Some of my finest memories with Greg are watching T.V. on the floor with our siblings, eating popcorn. We played tag, hide and seek, and kick the ball long after night had fallen. Catching lightning bugs, riding our bikes in summer, and drinking out of the hose.
We all enjoyed the 4th of July, lighting up firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, throwing sparklers. Greg enjoyed going to summer ice cream socials and playing baseball in the street with the neighbor kids. Greg also loved going to Uncle Jim’s for Thanksgiving and Christmas with our mom and Tony, myself (Julia), Andrea, and Shawn. Those were very special moments because Uncle Jim was our dad’s brother.
He enjoyed sledding in the winter. Greg very much loved music! Some of his favorites being Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, and many more. As he got older, he would load myself (Julia), Andrea, and Shawn into our mother’s car at 10:30 at night to go pick up our mother from work at 11pm from Kansas University Medical Center. He loved Mexican food- tortillas, tamales, beans, and rice.
Greg was always very giving of his time and money. He loved my daughter Cecely as if she was his own daughter. He picked her up many times from daycare/school, fed her supper, and took care of her while I was working. Greg had a big smile and an even bigger heart. He is already sorely missed by all who knew and loved him!! Heaven is rejoicing in his return! He is saving places for all his family and friends!
Gregory Kilkenny was an incredibly generous man. He spent a great deal of his time and resources helping others. He volunteered several years with operation uplift cooking in his own home to provide meals to the unhoused population in Kansas City. He also donated graciously to the places he felt were helping people in his community including food for the hungry, city union mission, and focus on the family. He also regularly volunteered to be a poll worker and election judge for local elections, and one time went to Haiti to help drill wells for communities without access to water. During his churchgoing years, he participated in a ministry for single moms and widows to help care for their cars, he helped facilitate a divorce recovery class, he participated in large Christmas banquets, and would quietly set up and clean up countless other events so that others could have the time and space they needed to minister God’s message. Greg never hesitated to open his home when family or friends fell on hard times, and was also quick to aid anyone with their projects or struggles sometimes even before they asked.
To say Greg was dedicated would be an understatement. He gave nearly 48 years to the same company, Clarkson Power Flow, which was purchased by IFP in 2024, until just a month before his passing. Even as his health declined, his work remained an important component of his identity. He valued each of the people that made his life feel vibrant at Clarkson. The feeling was definitely mutual as he was well respected and admired by friends and clients alike. His coworkers will remember his valuable legacy to the company and the relationships he fostered, some even exceeding 40 years, during his tenure.
Greg also enjoyed and focused on time spent with family and friends. He delighted in playing board games, watching the Chiefs, Royals, or the Jayhawks, showing up to his grandkids’ events, and even helped coach his best friend’s kid’s little league team. He drank up the experience of camping, road trips, and exploring life with those he loved. One of Greg’s favorite things to do was to sit by the fire, listen to music or comedians together, and just enjoy the outdoors with his favorite people.
Another interest that Greg pursued was learning. He loved to learn about everything, but most especially about 1st century Judaism and the Judaic roots of the Christian faith. They were apart of Single Hearted Ministry, with the leadership team and gained many friendships and many couples sprouted from that. He took formal classes at a local Messianic synagogue that he absolutely loved and spent countless hours researching and reading on those same subjects. He was incredibly passionate about walking out his faith the way he thought Jesus would have wanted him to and that largely incorporated what he’d learned from a Jewish roots class and that small synagogue. As he became more invested in the culture of the synagogue, he decided to volunteer in the Israel booth at the Ethnic Enrichment festival to raise funds and awareness for the Jewish community center. He even shortly served in a position on the committee for the festival. One of his most profound hopes for his family is that they would all come to know G-d and serve Him.
His family and friends are all so incredibly fortunate to have known and loved Greg. He has deeply impacted all those that he’s come across in both big and small ways. His bright spirit and fun loving banter will forever be missed. We’ll carry his memory fondly until we meet again.
A celebration of life will be held in honor of Gregory on November 7th from 7-9pm at the Shawnee Civic Center located at 13817 Johnson Dr. Shawnee KS 66216. Light appetizers and refreshments will be served. The family asks that you bring photos and stories to share.
Shema Prayer
Hear, O Israel: the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.
Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
V’Ahavta
And you shall love the L-rd your G-d
with all of your heart and with all of your soul
and with all of your might
And you shall love the L-rd your G-d
with all of your heart
with all of your soul
with all of your mind
with all of your strength!
You shall love your neighbor as yourself
And upon these two commandments stands the whole law
Love your neighbor
Love your G-d
V’ahavta!
Greg Kilkenny
Love G-d, love others, the rest is commentary. You don’t have to be perfect to be in Heaven with me, but keep those first two commandments and the rest will take care of itself.