Kenneth Wayne (Kenny) Huffman, age 68, of 1500 Donovan Street, Selma, Virginia, died Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. Kenny was born September 24, 1946 in a small home on Commercial Street in Clifton Forge. He lived there with his mother, Lelia Benson Huffman, until he was seventeen years old.
Kenny attended Moody Elementary School and Clifton Forge High School. When he was seventeen years old, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served aboard the U.S.S. Canberra. This ship was one of the first to serve in Vietnam.
In 1964, while on board, a CO2 bottle exploded near enough to severely injure Kenny. His shipmates thought him to be deceased. They took him to a freshly-scraped metal deck where they then used a welding lead to shock his heart. Kenny spent eight weeks in the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA recuperating. He returned to the ship for a short period and then served time in Okinawa, Japan, and in Florida.
He served in the Navy for twelve years and belonged to the Burnside Carpenter VFW Post 4299.
Kenny worked in construction building log homes and was an avid trout fisherman. You would often find him in his boat on Lake Moomaw fishing his "Honey Hole". He also enjoyed hunting and watching his bee hive and the nature surrounding his home in Selma.
He was probably best known in the area for riding his red moped around town without any shoes on, with a fishing pole in the basket on the back.
Kenny was a dear friend and a happy soul. Good fishing to you, mate!
In addition to his mother, Kenny was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Kathleen Huffman Surber and Vivian Darlene Huffman Farrar, and one brother, Eugene "Buster" Huffman.
He is survived by a sister, Joanne Huffman Hettler and husband, Don of Ohio; five nieces and a nephew, Pat Foutz of Millboro, Thomas Surber, Jr. of Owings Mills, MD, Pam Gallagher of Lynchburg, Joan Dee Huffman Wood of Fishersville, Felicia Huffman Wade of Fishersville, and Marcy Farrar McConnahea and husband, Dusty of California; a number of great nieces and great nephews; and many friends who were like family to him in the Clifton Forge, Selma, and Bath County area, including special friends J. P. Rhodes and wife, Donna, Donald and Brenda Childs, Wimp Whitmer, and Joey Sparks.
In keeping with his wishes, his body has been cremated. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 6, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. in the chapel of Nicely Funeral Home, Clifton Forge, with Father Tom McHenry officiating.
The family will receive friends on Friday, one hour prior to the service at Nicely Funeral Home. The family suggests memorial tributes take the form of contributions to the Burnside-Carpenter VFW Post 4299, C/O Richard Erskine, P. O. Box 290, Iron Gate, VA 24448.
