KINNEY SQUARE
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
OUR BELOVED SON, HUSBAND AND BROTHER
BRIAN K. KINNEY
VICTIM ON HIJACKED UNITED FLIGHT #175
DEDICATED NOVEMBER 4, 2001
This memorial was inaccessible for quite a few years, while construction for new additions to the University of Massachusetts Lowell occurred. Behind the memorial used to be a gas station, but is now a parking lot for college buses. It is my understanding that Brian worked part-time at the gas station. He lived a block away from me, but I didn't know it until after 9-11. A memorial flowering tree was planted in the front yard, and there is a small marker there.
As a genealogist, I just got a little too curious, and googled his name. Found the following information, there are two write-ups about this remarkable person:
BRIAN KINNEY
Brian Kinney
United Flight 175
ENGAGING AND INDUSTRIOUS
As a kid, Brian Kinney pumped gas at his family's Texaco station in Lowell, Mass., but even after college, when he put on a suit and started to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston, he spent Saturdays in his greasy old clothes, working alongside his dad. Mr. Kinney was grateful to his father for putting him through school, and he also loved catching up with customers' news. That was Mr. Kinney: equally comfortable in a white collar or blue one; tireless in his capacity for work; a friendly, enthusiastic fellow who asked "How are you?" before "Fill it up?" because he really wanted to know.
Decades earlier, Alison Hardy's father had worked at Kinney's. When she was 14, her father said she could cash her paychecks there. Brian wasn't yet allowed to handle money, but his father made an exception for Alison, so Brian had an excuse to talk with her when she came by. They married in 1998, settled in Lowell, visited their families weekly, planned to start their own.
At 28, the engaging, industrious Mr. Kinney had risen from intern to manager at Pricewaterhouse. He could have taken care of that California client by phone. But on Sept. 11, Mr. Kinney boarded United Airlines Flight 175 because he wanted to shake the client's hand and see how he really was doing.
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on April 28, 2002.
In New York City, September 11, 2001, Brian K. Kinney, 28, of Lowell. Manager of Global Risk Management Solutions at PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Boston. Beloved husband of Alison M. (Hardy) Kinney of Lowell. Beloved son of Norman P. and Darlene T. (Cormier) Kinney of Dracut. Brother of Timothy Kinney of Lowell. Grandson of Anna T. (Thibeault) Kinney of Chelmsford, Theresa and Rudy Paquett of Lowell and Robert P. Dalton of Lowell. Son-in-law of Paul A. and Susan (Mulligan) Hardy, Sr. of Lowell. Brother-in-law of Ann E. Draper, Paul A. Hardy, Jr., Jessica D. Hardy, Neil R. Hardy, Philip J. Hardy, Timothy Sousa and Tiffany L. Sousa. Friends will be received at Ste. Jeanne d'Arc Church, White St., Lowell on Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. A Memorial Mass celebrating Brian's life will be said Sunday evening at 7:00. Those wishing kindly make memorial contributions to the American Cancer Societty, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701 or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 101 First Ave., Suite 6, Waltham, MA 02154. Arrangements by the O'Donnell Funeral Home, LOWELL.
Paid Notice published in THE BOSTON GLOBE on 9/13/2001.
