Judge William (Bill) Anthony Kitchen of Paducah, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 23, 2023 at Providence Pointe Healthcare at the age of 95.
Judge Kitchen was born on April 30, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of William A. Kitchen and Aline Shope Kitchen. He enlisted in the United States Navy on his 17th birthday in 1945, served aboard the USS Potowatomi ATF-109 and took part in the occupation of Japan at the end of World War II.
After the war, he graduated from the University of Missouri undergraduate and School of Law and practiced for a short time in Kansas City before moving to Washington, D.C. to work for Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri. While in Washington he met the love of his life, Janice Fenn Alexander, whom he married on July 25, 1955. Judge Kitchen was an FBI agent and served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Kansas City.
In 1974, Judge Kitchen was appointed an Administrative Law Judge and moved his family to Paducah where he adjudicated Social Security cases for nearly 20 years. Upon his retirement from government service, he practiced law in Paducah for another 25 years specializing in Social Security cases. Judge Kitchen was a member of the Masonic Plain City Lodge #449, a Master Mason and Shriner.
Judge Kitchen was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his sister, Aline Margaret (Peggy) Phillips, of Benton, Kentucky.
He is survived by his son, Judge Tony Kitchen (Victoria); his daughter, Rebecca Kitchen; four grandchildren, Will (Lauren), Ben, Sam, and Meg; one great-grandchild, Remy.
Memorial Masonic Services will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, December 30, 2023 at Milner & Orr Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Paducah.
Visitation will be held from 11:00 am until the service hour of 1:00 pm on Saturday, December 30, 2023 at Milner & Orr Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Paducah.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, 100 Conn Terrace Lexington, KY 40508 or at www.shrinerschildren.org.
You may leave a message, light a candle of remembrance or share a “Hug from Home” at www.milnerandorr.com.