Jennifer Kuykendall, the Executive Director of the Wayne County Museum, passed on Nov. 29. She was 57.
Kuykendall was born on Jan. 17, 1967, in Yankton, South Dakota. She was the daughter of Britton Williams and Judith McMillen.
She was originally from Oklahoma where her father’s family and many cousins remain.
Kuykendall was a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
She moved to Goldsboro in 1984 with her mother and sister and graduated from Eastern Wayne High School.
Kuykendall is a graduate of Tulsa University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in fine Arts and excelled in Dramatic Theatre.
She lived in Japan where she taught English, traveled to Seattle where she climbed mountains and was involved in the local art scene.
Kuykendall then settled in St. Louis, Missouri where she met her true love, the late Tim Mize.
She had a career in museum and botanical garden management.
Kuykendall was also an influential member of the St. Louis music scene.
As a young widow, she moved back to Goldsboro where she accepted the position of Executive Director of the Wayne County Historical Museum where she spent the last seven years presenting Wayne County History of all types and revitalizing inclusive exhibits and outreach programs for the entire community.
Kuykendall was an energetic volunteer and served the community of Wayne County by delivering meals, working with the Optimist Club, and was President-Elect of the Three Eagles Rotary Club.
She raised money for cancer research for many years which included shaving her head to raise money for the St. Baldricks Foundation.
Kuykendall was an avid trivia player and loved downtown Goldsboro and her friends at Well Travelled Beer.
Jennifer became a faithful member of First African Baptist Church.
The Wayne County Museum posted the following message on its Facebook page on Monday:
“It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Executive Director, Jennifer Kuykendall. Her service is scheduled for Saturday at First African Baptist Church at 2:00 pm. Our prayers are with her family as we share their grief of her passing.
The family has asked instead of flowers, “You use hearts and hands to make the community a better place, one act at a time. You can best honor Jen by identifying someone or a situation that needs help and do what you can to help, making our community better one small act at a time.”
