Honoring Brother Richard Kenneavy

“When I meet our Supreme Architect, I want him to be able to say, ‘There stands a true and upright Mason’.”

While many Brothers have helped shape my beliefs as a Mason, it was Worshipful Brother Richard Kenneavy who uttered those words that I use as a guide through my journey as a Mason. Brother Kenneavy took me under his wings early as the Worshipful Master who raised me to become a Master Mason and counseled me on how to start my journey.  He was a superior ritualist who believed in not only perfection but how we deliver ritual to share its meaning. His mastery of the funeral ritual was a nod to the belief that every Mason deserves the final goodbye befitting of being a Brother. He welcomed Brothers into our Lodge and was adamant that we held our lodge room as a place of reverence and purity.  

Brother Greg Hall and Brother Richard Kenneavy

When Brother Kenneavy was diagnosed with brain cancer, our counseling became weekly sessions of coffee in his kitchen. We would talk for hours about the need for Freemasonry in today’s society. As his fight to defeat his disease was losing its grip on his ability to communicate, our talks turned to how being a Mason should impact your family, your community, and your Lodge. He was a mentor in every facet of my journey.

As I laid the evergreen (Sprig of Acacia) on his casket, I remember thinking about my friend, “You are being welcomed with open arms into the heavens above as a ‘True and upright Mason.’ Rest in peace my friend and mentor, Worshipful Brother Richard ‘Dick’ Kenneavy.”

Right Worshipful Brother Greg Hall

Batavia Lodge No. 404