Obituary for Bill Kitchen

On Saturday, April 28th we said one final goodbye to Billy L. Kitchen of Westerville, Ohio, born in Louisa, Kentucky, June 19, 1943 to Lora and John Kitchen. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Carol Kitchen, and their two children, Brad Kitchen (Alisa Argust) of Columbus and Sondra Kitchen of New York City. He is also survived by his brothers Johnny Kitchen of Stoutsville, Luke Kitchen of Louisa, Kentucky, and his sisters Icel Belle Crank of Groveport and Syrilda Dixon of Louisa, Kentucky. Additionally, he leaves behind a much loved, rowdy group of racquetball players and golfers. He was an authentic, hard-working, bull-headed, wise-cracking, compassionate, giving, hillbilly who appreciated every ounce of his life, hardships and all. He was a very proud alumnus of Morehead State University (Class of 1967). An entrepreneur by nature, he followed in the footsteps of his work-their-fingers-to-the-bone, farming parents. In 1979, Bill and his wife took a leap of faith and bought and ran Bradson’s Shoes in Westerville, Ohio for 13 years, after which Bill moved on to found Bradford Real Estate Investments, working as a realtor for the next 20 years. He was a supportive, encouraging father who cared deeply for his children, and he was a husband who cherished his wife and knew how lucky he was that she said “I do” 50 years ago on April 20th, 1968. Family and friends were always the most important things to him in life. He passed away with his keen sense of humor and sense of kindness and love intact. A visitation will be held at the Church of the Messiah from 11 - 1 on Thursday, May 3rd, with the funeral from 1-2. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Bill’s favorite charities: The Salvation Army and Faith Mission.