Sandra Kay Kinney

Female 1953 - 2009  (56 years)


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  • Name Sandra Kay Kinney 
    Born 2 Jan 1953  Seagraves, Gaines County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died 5 Sep 2009  Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I738  Cody LeBlanc's Family Tree
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2016 

    Father Buster Veigh Alva Kinney,   b. 10 Jan 1922, Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Feb 1958, New York City, New York County, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 36 years) 
    Mother Marie Mattie High,   b. 30 Jan 1928, Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Feb 1991, Odessa, Ector County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 63 years) 
    Married 1941 
    Family ID F1746  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 William Earl Hollifield,   b. 25 Feb 1947, Brownfield, Terry County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Apr 2012, Slaton, Lubbock County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 65 years) 
    Married 21 Jul 1970  Brownfield, Terry County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Divorced 11 Jun 1980  Seminole, Gaines County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. M.A. Hollifield
    +2. B.L. Hollifield
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2016 
    Family ID F284  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Lloyd Taylor Bell,   b. 24 Oct 1950, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Jul 2018, Liberty Hill, Williamson County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 67 years) 
    Married 13 Apr 1991  Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 19 Feb 2015 
    Family ID F285  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 2 Jan 1953 - Seagraves, Gaines County, Texas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 21 Jul 1970 - Brownfield, Terry County, Texas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDivorced - 11 Jun 1980 - Seminole, Gaines County, Texas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 13 Apr 1991 - Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 5 Sep 2009 - Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    Obituary picture
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    1970 Seagraves High School Yearbook Photo
    Seagraves, Texas, USA
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    1970 Seagraves High School Yearbook Photo
    Seagraves, Texas, USA
    Screen Shot 2021-11-22 at 6.31.02 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2021-11-22 at 6.31.02 PM.png
    1969 Seagraves High School Yearbook Photo
    Seagraves, Texas, USA
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    Sandra Kay Kinney
    1962 Seagraves High School Yearbook Photo
    Seagraves, Texas, USA

    3rd Grade

  • Notes 
    • Obituary:

      Sandra Kay Kinney earned the lines on her weather-worn face, family and friends said, battling alcoholism, riding the rails in West Texas and recovering miraculously, though temporarily, from liver disease.

      A mother of two and grandmother of four, Kinney died Sept. 5. She was 56.

      Kinney loved to shop, Dumpster-dive and eat vanilla ice cream with brownies. She was often called stubborn by her children and husband, but she always had a smile on her face, they said.

      "Sandy had a wonderful smile," said Lloyd Bell, her husband of 18 years.

      Kinney was born Jan. 2, 1953, in Seagraves. She was close to her grandfather, who lived on the streets in West Texas and often caught trains from town to town. She eventually followed in his footsteps and rode the rails herself in West Texas.

      During her life, Kinney had a variety of jobs, including making parts for Shell Oil Co., cashiering at Wal-Mart and selling sandwiches and sodas from her van at construction sites.

      She joined Austin's homeless population in 2000 or 2001, Bell said, living under a bridge near Barton Creek Parkway.

      "She liked having friends on the streets," Bell said. "She just liked that lifestyle."

      Almost three years ago, Kinney lay in the hospice care of Mary House Catholic Worker of Austin, a home that takes in the homeless, with less than two weeks to live. Eight months later, she was discharged as her deadly case of cirrhosis went into remission.

      To those who cared for her during her illness, her recovery was no less than a miracle.

      "God looked down on me," she told the American-Statesman in June 2007. "He gave me a second chance at life." After her discharge, Alan Graham, president of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, gave Kinney a trailer where she lived for a while before she moved into public housing in November 2008.

      She did not drink for almost two years. But about two months ago, Kinney began to drink again, which eventually led to her liver failure, Bell said.

      After a month of suffering, she died quietly at Christopher House of Hospice Austin surrounded by her friends and family, he said.

      Kinney's survivors include Bell and daughters Laini Jenkins and Becky Smith.

      Erin Mulvaney, American-Statesman staff; emulvaney@statesman.com; 445-3851

      (Published in Austin American-Statesman from Sept. 11 to Sept. 16, 2009)