BRUNSWICK — Maine humorist Wendall B. Kinney “became late,” as he jokingly liked to call it, on Dec. 17, 2014, after a brief illness. He passed away at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick surrounded by the family he loved so well.

Wendall is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Mona; his daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Dave “new sonny” Colburn of Leesburg, Va.; and his son and daughter in-law Neal and Denise “daughter #2” Kinney of Biddeford. Wendall is also survived by four grandchildren: Kaytlin Colburn of Houston, Texas; Jennifer Colburn of Leesburg, Va.; Kevin Huot of Los Angeles, Calif., and Thomas Huot of Biddeford. Wendall always said that family is the most important thing, and he leaves behind a large extended family as well, all of whom miss him dearly.

Wendall was born in Danforth, Maine, on June 19, 1935, to Neal and Pauline Kinney. He was a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Medical Corps in Korea in the mid-1950s. After a medical discharge from the Army, he worked as an X-ray technician at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Waterville, which was where he met Mona. They were married on Sept. 24, 1960, after he had accepted a job as chief X-ray technologist at the Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, Mass. His service in Korea and the two years spent working in Massachusetts were the only times he lived outside of Maine.

In 1962, Wendall accepted an apprenticeship at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, where he worked as a welder, non-destructive test inspector, foreman, and general foreman. He left the shipyard in 1981 to accept a position at the Supervisor of Shipbuilding in Bath, where he worked until 1988, when he was offered a promotion to the head of non-destructive testing back at Portsmouth. He retired from that position on June 30, 1990, to become a consultant in metal joining and testing, working with several companies with Navy contracts as well as private companies throughout New England.

After he retired from civil service in 1990, Wendall decided to enroll in writing classes at the Vermont College of Norwich University, where he earned a liberal arts degree. His creative life bloomed, and he published a collection of short stories inspired by his mother and maternal grandmother in 2002. The book is called “Overhome and Other Kitchen Table Tales.” Earlier this year, he recorded a CD of stories from his youth in Dexter called “The Bull and I: Maine Humor with a Twist.” After the release of the CD, The Coastal Journal carried a lively profile of Wendall on Aug. 21, 2014. Both the book and the CD can be ordered from Amazon.com. Copies of “The Bull and I” can also be found in Bull Moose in Brunswick, Sarah’s Cafe and Ames True Value in Wiscasset, and the Bath Book Shop.

A memorial service for Wendall will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21, at Brackett Funeral Home on 29 Federal St. in Brunswick. Directly following the service, a reception will be held in a location TBD.