William 'Bill' Lee Kenyon, 75

William Lee Kenyon died Oct. 3, 2024, on a sunny, blue-sky morning in western Colorado, following a nearly two-year-long battle with cancer. He was 75. Bill was born April 3, 1949, in Cortez, Colo., to Janie Le (Paddock) and Wayne Kenyon, who later divorced. 

In 1961, Janie and her husband, David Mullikin, moved their five kids to Aspen to raise Saint Bernards. Bill graduated from Aspen High School in 1967 and served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971 as an aircraft mechanic in Alaska and clerk at Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Aurora.

Bill was the first letter carrier for the Aspen Post Office. He married Judyth McFadden and relocated to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where he worked as a letter carrier for the Coeur d'Alene Postal Service when routes were still walked. Judyth and Bill welcomed their son, Will, in 1977 and their daughter, Willow, in 1979. He returned to Aspen in the mid-1980s, worked maintenance for the Bank of Aspen, drove taxis and lived almost 20 years in a geodesic dome off Midnight Mine Road. He retired in 2017 and moved to Paonia, Colo. 

Bill loved geology, collecting fossils, reading, writing and wildlife. He enjoyed the bears that visited his geodesic dome and was kind to Paonia's community cats. He enjoyed riding his Harley in the Southwest desert, camping, sailing, flying and exploring. He would never turn down a good cup of coffee and was always willing to lend a helping hand to others.

Bill was preceded in death by his twin boys, Jesse and Roland, who passed away at birth; his half-brother, Tom Mullikin; his brother, James "Jim" Kenyon, of Libby, Mont.; his father, Wayne Kenyon; and his stepfather, David Mullikin.

He is survived by his mother, Janie Mullikin, of Paonia, daughter Willow Kenyon and granddaughter Skye Boyd of Coeur d'Alene. Son Will Kenyon (Kelsy Bullick) and grandchildren Liam and Alyssa of Spokane Valley, Wash.; daughter Katherine Parker (Jeff) and grandchildren Austin and Briana of Houston, Texas; half-brother Tim Mullikin of Aspen, Colo.; half-sister Terrie Meck of Paonia; half-brothers Dan (Dianna) Kenyon and Dale (Kathy) Kenyon of Discovery Bay, Calif.; half-sister Ellen (Greg) Black of Cortez, Colo.; stepmother Loy Ann Kenyon of Cortez, Colo.; nieces Jessica, Chelsea and Jamie.

No services will be held. Bill's ashes will be scattered in the mountains and deserts he loved so much.