Mr. Kenan, of Durham, N.C., served as a Trustee of The Duke Endowment from 1977 to 1990. His son, Chapel Hill businessman Thomas S. Kenan III, would follow in his footsteps two years later, winning election to the Board in 1992. The elder Mr. Kenan served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in Charleston, S.C. from 1941-1945. In civilian life afterward, he created the Kenan Transport Company and Flagler System, Inc. He was an original director of the Research Triangle Park and was considered one of America’s most creative philanthropists. He was associated with a breakthrough national literacy program, an innovative approach to funding secondary schools and an international program sending MBA students to consult with businesses in central Europe. At age 80, he formed a think tank of retired business and civic leaders to help conquer societal problems. Mr. Kenan believed if “you see something that needs to be done, you go ahead and do it.” He was known as a man of honor and ethics.