Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
OBIT
Donald Gene Kenefick was born on July 4, 1929, the son of John E. and Ora “Sylvia” (Reierson) Kenefick. He was the second oldest of six children. They lived in 14 different homes in and around Rio, WI., during Don’s first 16 years. Moving frequently by the family was an essential requirement for his father to find employment, a source of income and housing. The WPA (Workers Progress Administration) was one source, created by the Federal Government to provide work for hardship cases. His father was fortunate to receive WPA assistance in addition to farm hand labor in exchange for basic shelter and food. In addition, Columbia County distributed outdated food to our home.
Valuable life lessons were gleened from those difficult years - - “You gotta be worth more than you get”, and “challenges are the fodder of life”. His parents provided valuable ingredients of stability, dependability, and compassion for their family.
Don received his early education in Rio. After graduating, from high school in 1947, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin and received a B.S. degree in 1951. To meet the military requirement, he enlisted in the Air Force and was discharged in 1955.
Don was united in marriage to Ruth Haines on August 13, 1955, in Arcadia, WI. Shortly thereafter they moved to East Lansing, MI, where he enrolled in a PhD program at Michigan State University with a major in Plant Physiology. He graduated in April of 1959 and accepted a position in Agronomy, later Plant Science with a joint appointment in the Chemistry Department at South Dakota State University. His duties at SDSU included research of freeze resistance of winter cereals. The renowned biochemists Watson and Crick and predecessors provided the original insight about the biology of inheritance in the early 1950’s. Their discovery gave a clue as to the direction of Don’s 36 year career at SDSU.
During his employment at SDSU, he was a visiting professor in physiology at the University of Illinois (1965-1966). In 1975, he was invited by the USDA as part of a four member team to visit USSR on a mission to exchange research views about crop stress. In 1980, the National Academy of Science granted Don a three month visit in USSR and Yugoslavia as a visiting scientist to exchange views about the status of their plant research. He was a charter member of SDSU Academic Senate, a chairman and served 11 years as an elected member.
His mutant wheat research continued on for 25 years into his retirement, including formation of a company to extend that research. It resulted in a novel mutant wheat collection and an authentic 10 chapter copyright manual describing his research. These efforts were donated to the South Dakota Crop Improvement Association. Don also authorized 40 referred journal articles, several original research articles about his primary responsibilities.
Don’s interests also involved baseball, first playing in the American Legion and then at the University of Wisconsin, and later after the start of his research career. He coached youth baseball, going with a group of talented Brookings players who went to the National Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Teener Tournament in Hershey, PA.
He sang in numerous church choirs, with eight different men’s quartets, and participated in two Brookings Civic Musicals. Don also enjoyed woodworking.
After a lifetime of family care and dedication, Ruth extended those attributes to her career choice as a RN. While employed as a Community Health Nurse, she completed requirements for a B.S. degree in nursing. Subsequently she obtained a M.S. degree in Public Health and became an instructor in that profession at SDSU until her retirement. Thereafter they traveled abroad several times and in the United States, often visiting children. Ruth died on February 23, 2004. Don often implied that Ruth was his angel in life. Ruth and Don were generous contributors to the college of Nursing and SDSU Athletics.
Don and Ruth were blessed with eight children; Karla (Tom) Murphy of Sioux Falls, SD, Julie Onisk of Columbus, OH, Kari Kenefick of Madison, WI, Jane Kenefick of Sioux Falls, SD, Thomas Kenefick of Brookings, SD, Sara Heffernan of LaCrosse, WI, Paula (Mathew) Pardy of Sioux Falls, SD, and Bill Kenefick, who died as the result of an automobile accident in 1978. Beside their many accomplishments, they provided numerous other gifts to humanity. Family gatherings with letters and through telephone visits they relayed family experiences as grateful reminders of life together.
In 2005, Don met Peggy Settle and were married on April 28, 2006. After marriage they spent time traveling in Europe, and later in the Caribbean.