James Stephen Kitchen, 74, of Henderson passed away April 19, 2023, at his home.
Funeral services were 11 a.m. Friday, April 21, at Estes Church of Christ with Mark Blackwelder and Allen Walker officiating.
Burial followed at Chester County Memory Gardens with Military Honors. The family received friends at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday and then from 10-11 a.m. service time at the church Friday.
He was born Dec. 4, 1948, in Portsmouth, Va., the son of the late James Alvin and Mary Estelle Stephens Kitchen. He graduated from Cradock High School in 1967 and entered the United States Coast Guard in 1968 and served a four-year enlistment, part of that time was served aboard an ice breaker gathering intelligence and escorting ships near Greenland and Iceland. After his active duty, he served an additional 18 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He began his Civil Service career in 1973, where he was employed at the Navy Regional Finance Center, Norfolk, Va., and ended with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Charleston, S.C. Part of his responsibility was packing, handling, storage and transportation of the Global Command and Control System-Maintenance afloat. He retired as a Logistics Management Specialist after 35 years total service.
He and his wife Martha moved to Henderson in 2005. They were active members of the Estes Church of Christ. He enjoyed his grandchildren, Jesse, Jemma and Jada, and enjoyed playing golf.
He is survived by his wife, Martha Carolyn Talley Kitchen of Henderson; a son James Nathan “Nate” (April) Kitchen of Henderson; and three grandchildren, Jesse, Jemma and Jada.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Paul Grant Kitchen in 1985.
