GoFundMe - Help Support retired Navy LCDR Bryan Kinyoun’s Family After His Passing

Written by Bryan’s son, Kenny Kinyoun.

On the night of Thursday, January 20th, 2022, I watched my father take his last breath at the age of 49. He is survived by myself, Kenny Kinyoun, as well as my brother, Kevin Kinyoun, and my mother, his wife, Christine Kinyoun.

My dad, Bryan Kinyoun, was a man of giving, hard work, and the will to fight. He was selfless in every act. His life revolved around giving to others whether it be his county, his students, or his family. I would like to share his story and why he meant not only so much to me and my family, but to everyone he crossed paths with.

My dad was born in Burbank, California on July 12th, 1972. At the age of 17 he started the process and joined the U.S. Navy. He served in the Navy for 22 ½ years. During that time, he went on several deployments, one of which was an Individual Augmentee (IA) where he served in Afghanistan for just under a year and a half. In total, he served 10 years enlisted and almost 13 as an officer where he reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). He retired from the Navy in 2012 where he would turn his sights to sharing his leadership and mentorship with the youth by becoming the Commander of the NJROTC program at Sanger High school.

He commanded NJROTC between 2012-2018. Here, he touched the lives of hundreds of students between teaching naval science in the classroom, teaching kids how to shoot in the marksmanship program, and leading students in parades and other community events. His students looked up to him as not only a leader, but to some, a second father. He loved his time at Sanger, but was forced to retire in 2018 due to a 2014 diagnosis of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

While MS did not and will not define who my dad was, it changed the rest of his life. He noticed it when he was running with his kids at school. After the diagnosis, things progressively got worse and worse. He started with canes and walkers before he would eventually be completely wheelchair bound. The years were tough. My mom became the best caretaker in the world. I can’t put it into words here, but she knew everything there was to know about my dad. She dedicated her life to taking care of him just as he did for us. Throughout the years of him declining, nurses and doctors could not believe when we told them that he was still living at home. While his condition was bad, we kept him clean and healthy. In the second half of 2020, my dad suffered a stroke that would completely take his speech and arm movement from him. For all intensive purposes, he became a complete quadrapalegic. Regardless of his state, we gave him the best life we could. Our lives were altered because of the care he needed, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way. .

Because my dad was immobile and required a lot of equipment, we realized we would need a bigger house. My mom was blessed when she found a builder who builds custom homes. We started the process in July of 2020. Unfortunately, the home was not finished for my dad to enjoy. We put almost two years of our lives into building it. We are trying our best to keep it for dad, but we are unsure if it is a financial possibility anymore with my dad’s passing.

My dad wanted nothing but the best for his family. He sacrificed his whole life to give us the best life possible. My mom’s entire life was dedicated to him. I have told her that her job now is to live the life that dad wanted her to live. This won’t come easy though. Because of his passing, she loses 90% of her income. Our family has grown to be as selfless as my dad as he taught us, but in tough times like these, we can only ask for help from friends, family, and anybody who my dad has touched.

While he is no longer here in the flesh, I know that he is still here with us. His character, personality, teachings, and morals, live on with me and all those who he inspired. He will live on throughout the rest of our lives.

I find peace in knowing he is with our heavenly Father in Heaven looking down on us. I find peace in knowing that he will no longer be struggling.

Dad, thank you. Thank you for being a teacher, a coach, an inspiration, a leader, a fighter, a hero, and my father. Thank you for making me the man I am today. I promise to carry on your legacy and your story. I promise to always protect mom and others you cared about. I will be the man of the house like you always asked me to be.

This isn’t a goodbye…

It’s a see you later.

Any and all donations are greatly appreciated. You are helping support our futures on behalf of my dad. We hate asking for anything, but we could not have planned for this. If you aren’t in a situation where you are able to donate, please share to friends and family. Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you would like to share any pictures or memories you have of my dad or would just like to chat and hear more about his story.