WESLEY CHARLES KINNARD

Wesley Charles Kinnard, A Globe Arizona resident, passed away March 11th, 2025, at the age of fifty-five. Born May 26, 1969, to Bud and Catherine Kinnard, Wes was quickly given the nickname “Chugalug” because of his baby rolls and bubbly personality. As the youngest of five children, Wesley was never short of company, while playing in the streets of his birth home. Riding bikes, playing basketball, and being an active member of the boy scout community, Wesley’s early life was full of adventure. However, this did not prevent his nerdy nature from shining when cartoons were shown on the television. He would sit there with freshly made pancakes, waiting for the newest Looney Tunes, Flintstones, or Popeye’s episode.

At the age of seven a movie would feature that would be the star of Wesley’s hobbies for years to come. Star Wars movie now known as “Episode IV: A New Hope” was the start of a passion for Wes. Figurines and other collectibles filled his childhood boxes. His older brother, Lee, took him to take pictures with a Storm trooper and Chewbacca at the Cobre Valle Plaza. Even till his college years, Wesley remained active in basketball, paintball, and other outdoors activities. His mechanical mind aided him in fixing up both a Camero and a Volkswagen Beetle. The “bug” as his family called it was a place of many memories. Listening to “Mr. Boombastic” on the way to church on Sunday was often the highlight of his sons’ week. In college he received a drafting degree, where he would sketch and format his dream home. Nicknamed the “Kinnard Castle” his dream home featured a feast hall, movie theater, a car shop, and a basketball court. Every part of his was small aspects of himself, the feast hall shows his passion for family tradition and his Norwegian ancestry, while the movie theater, car shop, and basketball court were his beloved hobbies.

Traditions were very important to Wes; every holiday he would bring his three sons to the house he was raised in to celebrate. If burger house was open, a local Mexican restaurant, he made sure he and his sons got a regular burro enchilada style. Catherine Kinnard, also known as Nana, would cook a whole feast and run a Christmas program. Wesley would collect any ornament or decoration, so that the house always had the holiday spirit. He would give his family homemade hot cocoa that his middle son and him developed the recipe for. Crafting soaps, painting miniatures, and even making his own dungeons and dragons’ dice, Wes was a crafter at heart. He worked at Costco for nearly 24 years as a maintenance employee. At work he was joyful to be around and was always cracking jokes with coworkers. He was a self- proclaimed “introvert”, but no one believed it as he could strike a conversation with any store clerk, office representative, or random passerby; This bubbly personality continued after he retired in January 2024.

Wes returned to his birth home in globe after retiring to help rebuild it. He made friends at the gym, gun store, and pretty much anywhere he went. For just over a year, he lived in Globe enjoying his retirement, while making new or reconnecting with old friends. He touched many lives, and He passed away surrounded by his loved ones on March 11th, 2025.

There will be a memorial service at the church he attended as a kid, the Miami/Claypool LDS church, 4247 E Broadway, Claypool, at noon, Friday March 21st to honor his memory.