CAMBRIDGE-Lawrence F. “Tork” Kenyon, age 74, passed away Saturday, January 11, 2025 in the comfort of his home located on New York State Route 22. Born May 24, 1950 in Cambridge, NY, he was the son of the late Earl Francis Kenyon and Luella (Brown) Kenyon.

He is pre-deceased by his Wife, Wendy (Nelson) Kenyon and his siblings, Edward Kenyon and Jim Kenyon, who were all proud members of the Cambridge community.

He is survived by his only child and daughter, Helen Kenyon-Lenoir; granddaughter, Mya Ada; son-in-Law, Andre’ Lenoir, Jr; two grandson in laws; Jayden Lenoir and Marcus Lenoir; sister-in-law, Dale Ann Bates and her husband, Henry (Skip) Bates; and brother-in-law, John E. Nelson.

His Prominently cherished and acclaimed well-known nickname, “Torque” the name bestowed onto him by his late Brother Jim for his fascination with automobiles and his brother joking with him teasingly to “Pick up the Pace” when they worked together. Later in life this nickname was shortened to “Tork” as the moniker followed him.

He graduated from Cambridge Central High School in 1968 and spent the entirety of his life in the community of Cambridge. Shortly after graduating, he began working for the New York State Canal System based in Waterford where he rose up the ranks from Mate to Tugboat Captain and served for 28 years. Some highlights of his career include his efforts to the environment cleaning up dredging, while navigating over 500 Miles of the canal system of locks and waterways.

Tork could be seen on voyages including transports to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty with prominent and prestigious figures such as the Governor of New York and Dignitaries as passengers on board his vessel. He looked forward to giving passengers the chance to revel in the sights including firework watching on the 4th of July.

He enjoyed socializing and playing cards. In his younger days he was an accomplished bowler and pool player. In Later years he took up golfing. He took much pride in the local Cambridge sports programs. In his younger days he was known to be a feared pitcher on the mound and a tremendous teammate on the baseball field. He also was a devout fan of the New York Yankees and Washington Commanders.

He was extremely fond of McKie Hollow Hunting Camp. He attended the camp every year since 1975. He quickly became a fixture where he earned the distinction of the very first lifetime membership to the camp. He also served as a board member to the directory committee for the camp. He was also known to take the lead on navigations during hunts and hikes. He became the camp’s head cook in later days and would contribute to maintaining the camp. In his downtime you would find him sitting in front of the fireplace reading the paper and working on crossword puzzles. He often spoke about how proud he was to have developed life-long cherished friends while there. His beloved friendships extended even further into the Sons of American Legion, Post #634 where he was also a life-long member.

His unconditional devotion to his daughter, Helen, was his proudest accomplishment. He often spoke about the tremendous honor it was for him to be able to contribute to her life. His dedication also continued to his granddaughter Mya Ada. He could not wait each day to check in to see how she was doing in all aspects of her life especially sports. He took pride in always trying to ensure that Helen and Mya Ada knew he would be there if needed.

His passion for his community, generosity and care for anyone he could help, “You could not have asked for a finer man” He was known for being reliable and available. He changed the world with his smile and his laugh. He will be sorely missed for his wise conversations and his wisdom. He was the best friend of all friends. His work will continue as his legacy will be forever cherished and adorned by all that knew of him.

A service will be held in Tork’s honor in the spring at Woodlands Cemetery in Cambridge.

A potluck celebratory gathering will commence thereafter at the American Legion Post 634.

Dates for these events will be announced.