Dr. Tolly "Sonny" Archie Kennon, Jr.

Tolly Archie Kennon, Jr., 78, of Charlotte, N.C. passed away on February 1, 2020 at Harris Hospice. He was born on October 12, 1941 in Bessemer, Alabama, the son of the late Tolly Albert Kennon, Sr. and Lillian Sipp Kennon and nicknamed “Sonny”. Following his father's return home from World War II, his parents moved from Alabama to Cleveland, Ohio where he attended schools in the Cleveland Public School System and graduated from East Technical High School. His higher education included receiving a B.S. Degree in Chemistry from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, a dental degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and the M.S. Degree of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After graduation from Georgetown, he served in the United States Army from 1972 – 1974 at Fort Riley, Kansas where he was assigned to the dental clinic as an oral surgeon and was promoted to the rank of major before his tour ended. Tolly was an avid reader and jazz enthusiast who enjoyed music at home and in the car. Generally, his music was playing as he worked on projects around the home. Whenever asked how he was doing, he always replied: “I'm just trying to keep my head above water.” Until his retirement, he was involved in a number of religious, community, social, and professional organizations. He was especially proud of his service as deacon at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and of his involvement with the American Heart Association. His membership in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Beta Delta Boulé was very special. He felt that his participation in the Charlotte Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Society, Charlotte Dental Society, Old North State Medical & Dental Society, and the North Carolina Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons provided personal growth and a sense of collegiality. His tenure as chief of the Charlotte Memorial Dental Clinic and as visiting professor of the oral surgery department, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was an additional source of professional pleasure. Dr. Kennon is survived by Eva, his wife of fifty-four years; two sons, Tolly III (Nicole) and Terrence; three precious grandchildren, Zoe Key, Emma Ryane, and Tolly IV; his only brother Terrence Raye of Atlanta, GA; and other loved family members.