Obituary of Kenny Carnahan

Kenneth Wayne Carnahan passed away on Wednesday February 17, 2021. He was born on September 12, 1956 in Auburn, IN to Robert and Carol (Baker) Carnahan. He married Saundra Mott in Palm Springs, CA on June 30, 1984. They lived in Eldorado Springs, MO and then moved to Lamar, MO where he worked for Barton County Tire for 15 years. In 2001 he started Carnahan and Son Tire Center which he operated until 2014. He closed it for health reasons and opened New Beginnings by Design consignment shop. Kenny missed the tire business but enjoyed visiting with customers in the consignment store. He was a member of the Living Word Church and he was always ready to share his faith. He is survived by his wife, Saundra, children, Michelle Evans of Lamar, MO, Kelly Carnahan of Eldorado Springs, MO, Angie Carnahan of Ft. Wayne, IN and Kenneth Carnahan Jr. of Ft. Wayne, IN; 6 grandchildren, Zachary, Tre-vaughn, Angel, Emily, Blake and Kelsi; and 5 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by 3 brothers, John Douglas Carnahan, Rickie Lee Carnahan, and Donnie Ray Carnahan. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother, Randie Carnahan. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Living Word Church. Please have any flowers sent to the funeral home. A memorial service will be held at 5 PM on Friday February 26, 2021 at Living Word Church in Lamar, MO. Eulogy: Kenneth Wayne Carnahan or AKA Kenneth “John” Wayne Carnahan, as he would tell people, but preferred to go by Kenny. Kenny has always been the kind of man that many felt, any young man would be blessed to grow up and strive to be like. He always put his family first, and went above and beyond, to take care of his wife Saundra and his kids. He always put his needs and wants aside to make everyone else happy. Kenny had the opportunity to go into modeling but chose a different path for his family. Who else do you know that would put their model looks aside, to instead drive a minivan and raise a beautiful family. He was a man of God, known as an amazing father, brother, uncle, papa and friend to everyone! He was well known in the community and respected the same. There are so many memories to share, starting with his die-hard love for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was proud of his football team. The family remembers several rivalry games in the living room, but the best ones being when they played the Steelers. The steelers was mom’s team. Mom would have her terrible towel out, whipping it around! The game was on, and they decided they would just have to be friends after the game. Another great memory was, he loved to play the stuffed animal claw grab games, and he never left without a car full of prizes. One time he had a whole RV full, but he loved handing them out to his grandkids and to the kids at church. He loved to see the smiles on the children’s faces. He also loved to bowl and was very good at it. He bowled well enough that he bowled in the leagues for over 20 years. He was a competitor at heart and enjoyed it very much. He had false teeth and loved to play tricks on people, especially the kids. He’d say, “I bet I can do something you can’t do” and to keep the from kids drinking his pop, he’d put his false teeth on or in his pop to keep them from touching it. He loved summertime for many reasons. • He loved taking the grandkids to Silver Dollar City as many weekends as possible. • He loved BBQ’s and get together’s with friends and family, because that meant he got to make his famous pineapple upside down cake and BBQ Baked Beans for everyone. • When the holidays came around, he’d make his amazing fudge, and in many flavors. Kenny spent most of his life, known as everyone’s tire guy. There wasn’t anything he didn’t know when it came to the importance of the rubber hitting the road. He used this same principle in his faith with Jesus Christ. “When the rubber meets the road”, he’d say, “you’d better know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior”. He loved to fish as much as he could, and loved to take the family with him. He always remembered where the worms were when it came time to bait everyone’s hooks, but tended to forget about them when he got home. So, after a few days it resulted in a great air freshener for the van. We, his family and friends, are very happy that his body is whole and he has two hands to clap and shout, and new again.