Kenny Joe McMullen

Kenny Joe McMullen was born on June 26th, 1956 to Mary and Joseph McMullen.

Kenny was the second of four children. Kenny Joe attended Calloway Elementary School and G.W. Carver High School, graduating in 1974. Kenny Joe matriculated and earned a liberal arts degree from Berea College in Berea, KY, in 1979. Following his college graduation, Kenny returned to Birmingham and began working in the food and beverage industry, most notably at Highlands Bar and Grill, fostering his love of food and service to others. Always an avid adventurer and traveler, Kenny Joe relocated from Birmingham to Seattle in the early 1990s where he continued service in the food and beverage industry, as well as the local community. Kenny founded his own food creations catering and floral arrangement company, initially known as Food and Flowers, eventually becoming Kenny Joe’s Event Services. His community-centered entrepreneurial endeavors allowed him to do what he loved best, creating cultural cuisine and floral arrangements for all occasions.

Kenny was a faithful member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle, WA, for over thirty years, where he was involved in the Brotherhood Chorus and the Floral Ministry. As a respected advocate for Seattle’s African American community, Kenny Joe worked and volunteered in various capacities and initiatives, thriving as an organizer and activist. Kenny was a founding member of Brother to Brother, a group which provided culturally competent support to gay African American men during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a field in which he worked for more than 25 years. Kenny served as the Supervisor for the Minority AIDS Initiative Grant. Kenny was also the coordinator and facilitator of POCAAN’s (People of Color Against AIDS Network) CDC-funded program “For Every Man,” and Project HANDLE, a project at Neighborhood House, a 100+ year old social services facility working with people in the community most vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases and, in collaboration with Navos, providing substance abuse and mental health services. Kenny Joe was also a passionate advocate for kidney health in the Black community, serving on the planning committee for the Kidney Health Fair for African American Families from 2002-2009. Prior to his return to Birmingham, Kenny worked to deliver meals for the South East Seattle Senior’s Center. He was also working with Seattle’s Public Health Department, and the nonprofit Sisters in Common, supporting their Covid-19 relief efforts by delivering masks and personal protective equipment to those in need, in particular Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations.

Kenny Joe is survived by his mother, Mary McMullen, his older brother, Lamar McMullen (Anna), his sisters, Annie Glispie, Wenona Renae Pearcy (Brian Scott) and Vicki Terrell Maye (John), as well as his nieces, Chandra Janel McMullen, Lauren Nicole Pearcy and Savannah Ashley Maye, and nephews, Jason Lamar McMullen and Thomas Joseph Pearcy. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph McMullen,

Memorial services will be held at Rideout Gardendale Chapel in Birmingham, AL on January 8th, 2022 at 2 pm.

If you have a Kenny Joe story, please share them at the following website: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/gardendale-al/kenny-mcmullen-10492019

Kenny Joe will be remembered by those who knew him to always have a smile on his face and a laugh in his heart. He could step off a plane, train, or bus anywhere in the world, and within minutes…he would have several new friends, a place to get a hot meal, and a place to lay his head for the night if required. We will miss his gregarious laughter, infectious happy attitude, and love for life. Until we are reunited with him in His Grace, “Ciao for now!”