Robert S. Kenney Jr., 80, journalist

Robert S. Kenney Jr., 80, of Riverside, who retired in 1999 after 36 years as a journalist for the Camden Courier-Post, died of heart failure on Sunday, Sept. 6, at his home.

From 1971 to 1993, son Edward said, Mr. Kenney was the paper's sports editor.

"He was awesome," his son said.

"He did so many things that they named a high school field after him - Bob Kenney Field at Riverside High School."

Mr. Kenney's influence extended beyond those who played and reported on sports in South Jersey.

Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr., representing the freeholder board, wrote in an appreciation:

"Bob was larger than life and served our community with a grace and dignity that could not be matched.

"In short, he was a man of integrity and intelligence who cared deeply about South Jersey and will be missed by all."

Alluding to Mr. Kenney's focus on high school sports, Cappelli wrote that "he redefined the local sports page, so we could follow our sons' and daughters' progress."

Phil Anastasia, an Inquirer sports columnist, wrote on his blog that "as sports editor at the Courier-Post from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s, Kenney was the driving force in the expansion of coverage of high school sports, especially girls' sports."

"He had the Courier-Post devoting nearly equal space to girls' sports as boys' sports - a revolutionary vision in those days."

Mr. Kenney also covered several Olympics, beginning with the Summer Games in Montreal in 1976.

Tom McGurk, Courier-Post sports editor for the last three years, who covered high school sports for Mr. Kenney, said, "Bob was the reason why I got into this business."

"He was just a great model for me," he said.

McGurk, who also is sports editor of the Daily Journal in Vineland, N.J., a position he has held for the last eight years, said Mr. Kenney shaped his future: "He gave me the opportunity."

Mr. Kenney worked at the Mount Holly Herald and the Burlington County Times, McGurk said, before joining the Courier-Post in 1963.

Born in Riverton, Mr. Kenney graduated from Camden Catholic High School.

He was a cofounder, in 2005, of the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame and Legends.

And from 1964 to 2008, he was the official scorer for the Phillies, who noted his passing with a scoreboard announcement before Tuesday night's game with the Atlanta Braves.

His son said that among other honors, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and the New Jersey Sportswriters Association each named him its man of the year. He was the treasurer of the Philadelphia group for 46 years.

He was the author of a book about Riverside and one about St. Peter's Catholic Church there.

Besides his son, Mr. Kenney is survived by his wife of 58 years, Emma; sons Robert J., David, Stephen, and Warren; daughter Nancy Kenney; a sister; 16 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Viewings were set from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, and 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, both at the Sweeney Funeral Home, 227 Bridgeboro St., Riverside, before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Casimir's Church, 502 New Jersey Ave., Riverside, with interment in St. Peter's Cemetery, Riverside.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.sweeneyfh.com.

610-313-8134@WNaedele

This article has been corrected from an earlier version that misstated Mr. Kenney's daughter as Nancy Ellis.