Robert Edwin Kenyon III, known as Peter, passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side on December 21, 2025.
Peter was born in Chicago on July 27, 1938, to Robert Edwin Kenyon, Jr., and Doris Bokum Kenyon. They moved to Old Greenwich when Peter was six years old. He graduated from Kent School in 1957 and Columbia University in 1962. Shortly after graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy in San Diego and served for two tours of duty on the destroyer Bausell (DD845), on which he saw action off the coast of Vietnam. After his active military service, Peter went on to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve for another 20 years.
Peter met the love of his life, Kathleen O’Neill, in San Diego. They moved to Darien in 1972, where Peter enjoyed a long, distinguished career as both a reinsurance underwriter and broker. He retired from Guy Carpenter & Co. in 2014.
Peter was most proud of his family, and nothing was more important to him than the time he spent with them. He shared his love of the water with them, spending many a beach vacation together in Nantucket over the years and taking his kids out early in the morning on fishing trips, where he painstakingly taught all of them how to cast and reel one in. Peter taught his kids and grandkids many of his own passions, including, but not limited to: sports and the importance of teamwork; traveling, both exploring new places and going back to favorites; all things food-related; anything related to the Navy; and the impact of volunteering and community service. Most important, both Peter and Kathy would drop everything to be there for their loved ones, and that had an everlasting impact on the family.
Upon moving to Darien, Peter became a devoted volunteer of many organizations. He served on the RTM for District II and was elected moderator of the RTM for six terms. He was a parishioner at Saint Luke’s Parish, serving on its vestry, being an usher and faithfully staffing the dessert table at community suppers. Peter coached his son’s Darien Youth Hockey team, served on the PTO at Tokeneke School, worked on Darien’s Environmental Protection Commission, raised funds for the Darien Old Timers Athletic Association, mentored candidates of the Navy SEAL Recruiting District Assistance Council and supported the Middlesex Genealogy Society.
Peter was blessed by the gift of life, having received a heart transplant in early 2002. Both Peter and Kathy felt strongly about honoring his donor by giving back through volunteering at Yale New Haven and mentoring patients waiting for a transplant and those living with a left ventricular assist device.
Peter is survived by his wife of 59 years, Kathleen O’Neill Kenyon; his daughters Kelly (Dave) Wheeler, Michelle Kenyon (Frank Persico) and Robyn (Mark) Kammerer; his son Jonathan (Janine) Kenyon; his grandchildren Jack, Charlie and Ali Wheeler, Benjamin and Isadora Kammerer, and Jonty and Nicky Kenyon; his sister Pamela Force; and many nephews and nieces.