Mr Kenny, 59, well liked and much loved by nearly all who had the chance to know him, was a mainstay of many charity projects both on and off the island.
He only recently returned from a charity project in Mae Sot, where he oversaw the installation of a clean-water system for an impoverished village, and was also advising on a project that will see water purification systems installed at Patong schools.
Founder of Environmental Solutions & Protection Co Ltd (ESP Phuket), Brad was a water expert complementing a fruitful career in aviation engineering.Though a successful and respected
entrepreneur, most of us remember Mr Kenny for his numerous charitable contributions and initiatives in the local community.
A member of the Navy League Phuket and the Home & Life Phang Nga Foundation, Brad was also a driving force behind the Rotary Club of Patong Beach, for which he served as president last year.
A key figure in the recovery effort immediately after the tsunami devastated Phuket in 2004, Mr Kenny for years continued his post-tsunami recovery efforts, often taking US Navy volunteers to carry out repair and restoration charity projects for villagers and orphans still living in abject conditions on and off the island.
For his work with the US Navy League, Mr Kenny in 2010 was awarded the prestigious Sahataya Naval Insignia and Certificate from the Royal Thai Navy at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall in Bangkok for his role in 63 Navy Community Relations (“Comrel”) and Handclasp projects.
In May this year, Mr Kenny received on behalf of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach (RCoPB) Rotary Thailand’s highest service award, the HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn Trophy, for one of three projects helping the children of Myanmar migrant workers and sea gypsies.
A “full-blooded expat” with character to match his intelligence and finetuned wit, Mr Kenny was also an active member of the Phuket’s famed Grumpy Old Men’s Society.
So active in so many facets of charity work, Brad caught us all by surprise with his untimely departure. But no one would argue that he didn’t live each day full of life.
Originally from Livonia, Michigan, in the US, Mr Kenny studied Aerospace Engineering and was a field service engineer for F-16 fighter aircraft.
His work with jets brought him across Asia, where he worked in South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and finally Thailand, formally moving here in 1987, initially to work with the Royal
Thai Air Force.
By 1993, he founded ESP to fulfill the growing need for water treatment systems in Thailand’s expanding residential sector.
Initially based in Bangkok, following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Brad finally moved to Phuket, which he had first visited and fell in love with 33 years ago.
But he never lost touch with his American roots, and was known to host some fiery debates on his active Facebook threads, whether about environmental conservation and human rights, or the upcoming presidential election.
In his short-yet-enriching time on this planet, Brad touched the lives of thousands – Thais, expats, migrant workers, Rohingya and then some, and the island won’t be the same without him.
And though his body has departed this realm, his spirit and legacy lives on, firstly through his three children – Sonya, Justin and Kaylynn – and secondly through all of us.
Thank you Brad, for making Phuket a better place, and all of us, better people.