Kenneth Wade Gasperson Jr. was born on June 9, 1982, in Silver Springs, Maryland. Kenny came into the world a happy redheaded baby. He spent most of his 39 years in southeastern North Carolina and often said he had “saltwater in his veins” because of his love of coastal living and the beach.

Kenny attended Topsail High School, in Hampstead, North Carolina. Known for his humor, storytelling abilities,  working a crowd, and infectious laugh, Kenny prided himself on being the funnier of the two Gasperson brothers. 

Kenny G., as he was affectionately known, was voted “the Most Interesting” of his graduating class.

As a teenager and young man, Kenny served as a lifeguard at the Wilmington, North Carolina YMCA, the Robert J. Strange pool, downtown and later at Fort Fisher. He met countless lifelong friends while serving as a lifeguard and pulled out many people’s children from the deep end. Kenny was one of the few redheads that could get a proper tan.

Kenny was also childhood actor. In 1991, he landed his first role at age 9, playing Indiana Jones’ redheaded friend in “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.” He also starred in “Matlock.” In High School, Kenny had a role in the movie Summer Catch. He also starred in One Tree Hill during college and did some commercial work around the country.

Kenny was immensely proud of his acting career and often shared hilarious stories about some of his memorable auditions, including one where he asked the director, the actor D.B. Sweeney” Hey, aren’t you that guy from that movie about the hockey player who becomes a figure skater,” to which Sweeney grumbled he’d been in a lot of other roles too.

Kenny pursued his craft in New York and Los Angeles but eventually decided to hang it up and return to his beloved Tar Heel state to be close to his family and friends, which he loved so much. He decided to finish his bachelor’s and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree in Geology in 2016.

After getting hired by the North Carolina State Department of Agriculture, Kenny met the love of his life, Briana, while attending a training course in Baltimore, Maryland. The two fell in love quickly, were married, and Kenny wanted a family.

When Briana became pregnant in 2021, Kenny began to explore orthodox Christianity after listening to a secular podcast about the history of Byzantium. Kenny was consumed with learning more about the ancient faith and poured over books, YouTube videos and anything he could get his hands on. He found a church and led his family there. Kenny was chrismated into the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church at  St. Basil, the Great Orthodox Church in Castle Hayne, North Carolina in 2022.

Kenny and Briana became new parents to a sweet baby girl, Eleanor, on Jan. 12, 2022. Kenny was so excited to be a father and left his job in April to spend time with his daughter. He and his family never expected his life to be cut short. 

Kenny was a wonderful son, brother, husband, father, uncle, and friend to so many. He was loved and lived a full life. 

He is survived by his loving wife Briana, daughter Eleanor, mother and father, brother and sister-in-law, nephews and niece, aunts and uncles, cousins, his spiritual family, and too many friends to list.

A vigil was held for Kenny on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. at St. Basil, the Great Orthodox Church. 4601 Blue Clay Rd, Castle Hayne, NC 28429.

Kenny's funeral service was held at the church on Friday, May 6, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. 

Kenny’s family would appreciate any donations in memory of Kenny to be made to a GoFundMe set up to support his wife and baby. https://gofund.me/4022fb85

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