Influencer Patriotic Kenny has died at age 84 following a battle with stage 4 lung cancer.
“The tears may never stop flowing,” read an Instagram statement on Monday, May 18. “It is with the most indescribable sadness we share that Patriotic Kenny has passed. He experienced the most profound love and was Earth’s bright light.”
The statement continued, “He passed surrounded by love and he was in peace. Any memorial contributions should go to his amazing nonprofit, the @patriotickennyfoundation which will live on in his memory. We will share more as time goes on. #patriotickenny”
Patriotic Kenny (real name Kenny Jary) gained more than 3 million TikTok followers and nearly 1 million Instagram followers for the inspirational videos he filmed with his neighbor, Amanda Kline.
In March, the U.S. Navy veteran revealed to his social media followers that he’d been diagnosed with cancer following an unexpected hospital trip.
“I’m home from the hospital and I feel a lot better — not bad at all,” he explained to his fans. “But also, I would like to tell you that I’ve got stage 4 lung cancer. So that’s the way it goes. I mean, we can’t live forever. But I love you all, fans.”
At the time, he launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his medical care, with the appeal raising more than $330,000, as of publication.
“I don’t know what to say,” Kenny said of the fundraiser’s success. “That is just unbelievable, and I mean it. You know, if I can make some more kids and people happy and veterans — you know, mainly veterans — I’d be so much happier. … Thank you.”
Following his death, Patriotic Kenny’s neighbor Kline encouraged grieving fans to take comfort in the joy her late friend brought to the world.
“I know your heart is breaking over the news of Kenny’s passing,” Kline wrote via Instagram on Monday. “I carry the weight of your grief on top of my own. I am so sorry for your loss. Kenny’s videos comforted so many of you in really, really dark times of your lives. You’ve been vulnerable and have opened up to us about those moments.”
She went on, “Go back and watch a few videos. They will never be taken down. Then, take a breath. Kenny would say, ‘We can’t be little babies! We gotta settle down now and struggle on.’”
In addition to starring together in TikTok videos, Kline helped her neighbor create the Patriotic Kenny Foundation to provide mobility scooters for military veterans. Kline encouraged fans to donate to the foundation as a way to keep Kenny’s memory alive.
“Two weeks before Kenny passed, he told our board [of] his strong desire and wish for his legacy to continue ending isolation in veterans through mobility scooters,” she wrote on Monday. “One of the last things I told him before he passed is that I’ll do everything I can to honor his wish. I meant it.”
