Kenna Mae Bure Rickenbrode, age 83, of McEwen, Tennessee, passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at her home. She was born in Marshall, Missouri on January 26, 1942 to the late Beulah Mae Price Bure and Kenneth Bure. She grew up as an only child on her parents’ farm in Slater, Missouri, where she developed a lifelong love of horses.
She met her husband, Gary Rickenbrode, while putting up decorations in the Slater High School gym in preparation for the prom. She was struggling to get the decorations on the ceiling, when Gary saw her needing help and came to the rescue.
Kenna graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a degree in Special Education specializing in Speech and Hearing. She later obtained her master’s degree in Education from Southeast Missouri State University.
For the first several years of her marriage to Gary, they moved to several towns in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and finally Tennessee, due to Gary’s work in the power plant industry.
Kenna’s professional calling was as an educator. In 1978, Kenna became a teacher at McEwen Elementary School in McEwen, Tennessee, with most of those years being spent as a third-grade teacher. She taught for 30 years and was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma International Teachers Society. Some children had difficulty saying her last name of Rickenbrode and they called her Ms. Rock and Roll instead. She loved being a teacher. During the past few months, as she has been in and out of the hospital, we frequently heard, “Mrs. Rickenbrode, you were my third-grade teacher” from hospital staff.
She was a devoted member of Ellis Grove Presbyterian Church for almost 50 years, where she taught Sunday School, played the piano and served as an elder. She adored her Lord and her Ellis Grove family.
Kenna loved and was proud of her family. She was the mother of two children: Carie Rickenbrode Turner (Greg) of Franklin, Tennessee and Ken Rickenbrode (Beth) of Johnson City, Tennessee. She was a grandmother to four grandchildren: Austin Turner (Jessica) of Ipswich, Massachusetts, Catherine Turner MacLeod (Gordon) of West Lafayette, Indiana, Graham Rickenbrode of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Lilly Rickenbrode of Johnson City, Tennessee. She also had four great grandchildren: Evelyn and Emily Claire Turner and Nolan and Alice MacLeod.
In addition, Kenna was an aunt to niece, Lori Rickenbrode Greenhaw of Albany, Texas and nephew Ron Rickenbrode of Tampa, Florida.
She had two especially close friends whom she considered to be her sisters: Beverly Butts Blanton Kitchen (Gerald) of Slater, Missouri and Judy Wallace Johnson (Larry) of McEwen, Tennessee.
Visitation will be held on Friday evening, July 11, 2025 at Luff Bowen Funeral Home in Waverly, Tennessee from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and on Saturday morning, July 12, 2025 from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. with her Celebration of Life service held immediately afterwards.
Her interment service will be held at Avalon Cemetery in Avalon, Missouri at a later, to be announced date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Gideons International, P. O. Box 135, Waverly, Tennessee 37185.