The check couldn’t be cashed because it was too old, but a new check will be written by the Class of 1974 and sent to the soup kitchen — at a time when its most needed, Stegner said.
“To me, it was like Benny was coming back from the grave, saying ‘Here, I didn’t want this to go unnoticed and I want to keep you guys going,’” Stegner said. “He couldn’t rest until it surfaced to help the soup kitchen.”
Kenney was well-known throughout Springfield, Stegner said, and spent time at both the soup kitchen and Un Mundo Cafe. Kenney died in an open field in September of 2014. A funeral was held at the Soup Kitchen a few weeks later.
“He was an icon in the city,” Stegner said. “So many people knew him and loved him.”
Stegner could hear his former patron calling him from the grave and said his spirit lives on at the soup kitchen.
“He was saying ‘Don’t forget me,’” Stegner said. “His memory is there all the time.”
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