Thomas Bernard Kinney

Thomas Bernard Kinney

Iowa City

Thomas Bernard Kinney, 85, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully at his home on May 28, 2025, surrounded by his family. Family will greet guests from 10-11 prior to the service on Saturday, July 12 at the Congregational United Church of Christ, 30 North Clinton Street in Iowa City. A service will be held at 11 am, with reception to follow.

Tom was born on December 26, 1939, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Thomas Bernard Kinney, Sr., and Elizabeth Kinney (née Rossbach). Tom grew up a voracious reader, consuming every book he could lay his hands on, collecting newspapers from far and wide, and spending the rest of his time glued to the family’s console radio.

At age 17, Tom graduated from high school, boarded a train for Chicago, and found a job at Marshall Fields downtown. His late teens found him hopping between Los Angeles, Albuquerque and Dallas finding odd jobs to keep body and soul together. At the end of the decade, he enlisted as an office clerk in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany, traveling the continent while on leave. Upon discharge in 1963, he settled in New York City. He lived and worked at the Catholic Worker House in Little Italy before finding employment as a text and tradebook specialist at Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Longing for the relative tranquility of his native Iowa, Tom moved back and settled in Iowa City in 1968. He continued his trade at Iowa Book & Supply, where he worked as a bookseller and manager until his retirement in 2005. In December 1969, Tom took Jane Chapin to the Iowa Book Christmas party. They got married in November 1970 and remained so until his passing.

Tom often shared with his children how meeting and marrying their mother, and making a family had brought joy and meaning to his life that he never knew was possible. Tom and Jane were the perfect complement to each other. They focused on nurturing what their lives together had brought into the world: their three children and the values of universal love, profound respect for all life and social justice.

Tom was a devoted husband and father who consistently modeled kindness and appreciation for the simple pleasures of life: he loved spending evenings with his family at home; enjoyed attending his children’s activities and events; looked forward to reading his weekly New Yorker cover to cover; and finishing each day with a bowl of ice cream before bed.

Tom instilled in his children that kindness and grace are the fabric of a life well lived; that fulfillment was to be found in how one used their time on earth to share peace and love with those around us.

Tom is survived by Jane, his loving wife of 54 years, children Leah Schapiro (Jeremy) of Appleton, WI, Daniel Kinney (Puja Birla) of Iowa City, and Anya Pierce (David) of Evanston, IL, his six grandchildren, sister Maureen Hoffmann (Gilbert) of Manchester, IA, brother Terrence Kinney (Donna) of Cincinnati, OH, and numerous extended family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice, CommUnity Food Bank and the Iowa City Catholic Worker House.

Online condolences and memories may be shared on Tom’s Tribute Wall.

Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.lensingfuneral.com.