Thomas Richmond McKinney |
| Posted 2021-09-06 by mhenderson |
| Published by The Miner on Sep. 4, 2021 - Kingman, Arizona - Thomas (Tom) Richmond McKinney died on Aug. 28, 2021 in Kingman, Arizona. He was born in Mexico City on Sept. 9, 1945 to Richmond and Mary Wilson McKinney, where his father was a Bible translator and taught at the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City. The family moved to the U.S. in 1947 to Princeton, New Jersey and in 1950 moved to Texas where Tom’s father was a minister first in Dallas, then in Ennis, McKinney, Laredo and finally in San Marcos, Texas. His mother played the organ in each church along with filling various other roles. Tom’s father, Richmond, died in 1973 and mother, Mary Wilson, died in 2009, both in San Marcos. Tom graduated from Austin College (1968) in Sherman, Texas with a BA in biology. While an undergraduate, Tom traveled to Senegal and the Gambia in West Africa and Jamaica in the Caribbean. He graduated from University of Miami in 1970 with an MS in biology, and University of Kentucky with a PHO in biology in 1974. Then, he spent two years in a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology dealing with the control of agriculturally important insects. In 1976 Tom moved to Swannanoa, North Carolina (near Ashville) where he taught biology for nine years at Warren Wilson College. In 1985, he moved to Snowmass, Colorado to become a resource policy analyst at the Rocky Mountain Institute focusing on agricultural efficiency. Tom missed teaching a great deal, and moved to Kingman, Arizona in January, 1990 to teach biology at Mohave Community College. After 20.5 years of teaching, he happily retired in May 2010. In retirement, he enjoyed his love of reading, music, planning trips, landscaping, and spending time and traveling with the love of his life, Gail Salmon. They ventured to numerous countries including Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Wales, Curacao, Aruba and others. Gail and Tom traveled all over the United States, but especially enjoyed visits to see his grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law when they lived in Kauai, Hawaii. His survivors include his daughter Rachel Lynn, her husband Jeff, his grandchildren Tamakai and Atreyu, and his son Joshua who lives in Seaside, California. Other survivors include his younger brother Ross who lives in Richmond, Virginia, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins who live east of the Rocky Mountains; and his partner, Gail Salmon, who lives in Kingman. Tom died after a 10-month struggle with cancer. He was cremated and his ashes will be spread at favorite locations. A memorial celebration will be held in Kingman. |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?