Captain Ben Jack
Kinney, USN (Ret.),died on 16 November 2009 in New Braunfels, TX, ending his
long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 77 years old. A native of Austin,
TX, he attended the University of Texas for three years before receiving his
congressional appointment to the Naval Academy. A member of the 17th Company,
he was commissioned on 1 June 1956. At the Academy, Ben Jack wrote and directed
the Musical Club show, sang with the “N-A Ten” a cappella choir, was head
cheerleader and captain of the handball team.
Naval aviation
was Ben Jack’s primary military duty. He served two tours in VP-47, one in
VP-28, and had command of VT-2. In 1960, he developed his sub-specialty
training as a computer specialist, later earning his MS in computer systems
management. He utilized his computer expertise on the Joint Strategic Target
Planning Staff at Offutt Air Force Base NE; Headquarters European Command in
Stuttgart, Germany; and Deputy to the Director Wide World Military Command and
Control Systems in greater Washington, D.C. He remembered duty in Hawaii as
aide and flag lieutenant to Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, Admiral Roy
Johnson, as the most gratifying.
Retiring from
active duty in Washington, DC, in 1982, he founded a small computer company,
Xebec Corporation, and began a wild roller coaster ride in the “beltway bandit”
world. In 1987, tired of corporate and governmental bureaucracy, he returned to
Texas to restore his wife’s historic family home. There, at the Karbach Haus,
Ben Jack and Kathy successfully operated a traditional bed and breakfast for 15
years.
Survivors include
his wife of 53 years, the former Kathleen Karbach of New Braunfels, TX; son, John Kinney and
his wife, Jill of Tiburon, CA; daughters, Karen Gregory and her husband, David
of Portola Valley, CA, and Kathryn Harris of Bellevue, WA; brother William G.
Kinney Jr. and his wife, Patricia of Houston, TX; and nine grandchildren. Ben
Jack was predeceased by his youngest son, Roy Taylor Kinney. Ben Jack’s wishes
throughout his life were to help others in any way possible. In keeping with
these venerable goals, Ben Jack’s body has been donated to science. A
celebration of Ben Jack’s life was held at his family home, The Karbach Haus, 487 W. San Antonio St. in New
Braunfels, TX, on 18 November 2009. The Kinney Family
