Mr. Kenan, who served as a Trustee from 1992 to 2021, was well known for his storytelling ability and deep knowledge of Duke Endowment history. He comes from a family of philanthropists and business leaders with close ties to the Duke family. Mr. Kenan recalled that his great grandfather’s wife and Mr. Duke’s wife Nanaline grew up together and were life-long friends. He said that after his own mother died, Mary D.B.T. Semans, Mr. Duke’s grand-niece, “was almost like a second mother to me.” Mr. Kenan followed in the footsteps of his father, Frank H. Kenan, who served as an Endowment Trustee from 1977 to 1990. Mr. Kenan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He has served on several family foundation boards as well as The Randleigh Foundation Trust, the N.C. Museum of Art, the N.C. School of the Arts, St. Stephen’s Church Foundation, and Woodberry Forest School. While attending Woodberry, Mr. Kenan developed a love of music and organs. He later secured Charles B. Fish to design a new organ for St. Andrews Chapel at Woodberry Forest in honor of his father Frank. At his election to the Endowment’s Board, Mrs. Semans, then the Board Chair, said “Mr. Kenan…brings special knowledge and expertise to our board; he has great insight and understanding of problems of not-for-profit organizations.” Of the Endowment’s history and work, he said: “I really think Mr. Duke would be pleased with us … we haven’t been sleeping. We’ve been working very hard to keep up with the times.”