Special Report on Eleanor Kinnan, Our Past President

Eleanor Kinnan's High School Graduation


Eleanor Hott Kinnan Special

Revloc Woman Was Fascinated with Ancestry

By TED POTTS
THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Eleanor Lee Kinnan of Revloc, who was avidly interested in genealogy, died Saturday at Laurel Crest Manor, Ebensburg. She was 70. "She could quote genealogy from way back," said her sister, Gail Prave of East Taylor Township. Ms. Prave said genealogy fascinated her sister, likening Mrs. Kinnan's recollection of family history to a records center. She said her sister's interest in genealogy began in earnest when her mother, the late Elizabeth Krise Hott, left some of her genealogical information to Mrs. Kinnan.

Mrs. Kinnan was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 609 Walters Ave. The church, headquartered in Salt Lake City and whose members are known as Mormons, encourages its members to become involved in their families' histories, Ms.Prave said.

At the local church, Mrs. Kinnan was a former Relief Society president, Sunday school teacher and director of the family history center. Family history centers at Latter-day Saints churches have access to the church's massive genealogy archives in Salt Lake City, Ms. Prave said.

Mrs. Kinnan was a former member of the election board in Revloc. Election board members work at polls on election days, handing out ballots to voters and counting and delivering ballots to the Cambria County Courthouse after elections. She was a longtime member of the board in Revloc, her sister said. Mrs. Kinnan also took ballots to voters who were patients at Laurel Crest and who could not get to the polls, Ms. Prave said. Mrs. Kinnan was left to raise her five children on her own when her husband, Joseph, died when the children all were at young ages, Ms. Prave said. Mrs. Kinnan served as president of her family's Barefoot Reunion from 1992 until earlier this year, when ill health made it necessary for her to step down, her sister said.

She enjoyed cooking, particularly baking. "She was a wonderful baker," Ms. Prave said. She said she baked frequently, particularly pies, cakes and the like. She enjoyed reading, particularly books about history, her sister said. Asked to describe Mrs. Kinnan's personality, Ms. Prave said: "She was a very social person. She loved to talk to people, and she absolutely loved children. She had a beautiful spirit."

Eleanor Hott Kinnan with her son Jeffrey Scott Kinnan and Karen Kinnan


Mrs. Kinnan was a former Avon representative. Although she had been out of Avon sales for 15 years, many of her customers kept in touch with her, Ms. Prave said. "Her customers thought the world of her," her sister said. Mrs. Kinnan is survived by four sons: Jeffrey of Armagh; William and Greg, both of Casper, Wyo.; and Richard of Colver; and one daughter, Karen Peterson of Camp Verde, Ariz. There are six grandchildren. In addition to Ms. Prave, Mrs. Kinnan is survived by two brothers, Fred Hott and G.Robert Hott, both of Ebensburg; and four other sisters, Betsy Hawthorne of Johnstown, Sylvia Sonneborn of York, Mary Hutchison of Huntsville, Mo. and Nancy O'Hara of Wright, WY.