Published: April 10, 2008 12:18 am            

Mark Maynard: The list went on and on: 4/10/08

You never saw Kenley Dobyns without that list. It was a part of him.

When he saw something that needed fixing, he jotted it down.

When he saw something bad, he jotted it down.

When he saw something good, he jotted it down.

Much like his lists, Kenley Dobyns was efficient and effective. He went about his work — a work of serving his church and his community — like a well-oiled machine. He did it not for attention, but to make life better for someone else. That was Kenley Dobyns.

Whether it was organizing the ushers or directing a Sunday School Department, or trying to comfort someone at King’s Daughters as a hospital volunteer or in his role volunteering with Community Hospice, there was something about this man that put you at ease. That was his gift. That and making those lists.

Kenley Dobyns was a man of God, and that’s what he would want people to remember the most about him. He was a man who wanted everything in the church to run as smoothly as possible but realized that didn’t always happen. That’s where those lists would come into play.

Instead of stirring the pot of controversy like so many do when word reaches them about something is amiss in the church, Kenley would simply add it to his list. Many times it would be those lists that proved to be the antidote to the church’s ills. He took the lists to those who needed to know, those who could do something about them before a small problem became a bigger one.

Kenley Dobyns was also an avid sports fan, especially loving those Kentucky Wildcats. Every Saturday during college football season, he’d clip out the Sports on the Air list from this newspaper and carry it with him in his front pocket.

If something was wrong on the list — especially if the time or channel for UK’s particular game that day was incorrect — guess who heard about it Sunday morning? But he did it in a kindly manner, even though he never understood how that could possibly happen.

His sweet wife, Janet — the love of his life, his helpmate and his angel here on Earth — would tape the UK games for him. If the Wildcats won, they’d watch the game together — very relaxed I might add. If the Wildcats lost, they didn’t bother. It was a much calmer world with UK undefeated.

Kenley Dobyns was not a man of conflict, quite to the contrary. But he was a man of organization. Every Sunday, he would round up the ushers — nobody could say no to him if he asked. He’d also let the ushers know if there was a visitor present, because visitors always needed a word and a warm handshake. Kenley would count how many were in attendance at church and then he would jot that number down on his list, too.

On Sunday morning, Kenley stopped making those lists. His big, caring heart stopped beating and he went on to a greater reward.

For those of us who knew him, we’ll miss those lists and that smile. We’ll miss that servant’s spirit that made this place a better place to be. People like that are never replaced, or forgotten. His legacy will be one of caring for and helping others. There will be a void in the organizations — and the people within those organizations — that touched Kenley the most. His heart was always in the right place.

We’ll miss you Kenley. May your rewards be as plentiful as those lists.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

        

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