Influencer Patriotic Kenny’s Close Friend Remembers His Final Days Before His Death from Stage 4 Lung Cancer (Exclusive) Luke ChinmanTue, May 19, 2026 at 7:36 PM UTC 0 Patriotic KennyCredit: Jason Kempin/Getty Kenny Jary — the 84yearold influencer known online as Patriotic Kenny — died after sharing his stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis In an interview with PEOPLE, Amanda Kline, who helped him start his social media accounts, remembers the internet icon&x27;s final days “He gave us a lot of reassurance he was OK with passing,” she says.
Influencer Patriotic Kenny’s Close Friend Remembers His Final Days Before His Death from Stage 4 Lung Cancer (Exclusive)
Luke ChinmanTue, May 19, 2026 at 7:36 PM UTC
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Patriotic Kenny
Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty -
Kenny Jary — the 84-year-old influencer known online as Patriotic Kenny — died after sharing his stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis
In an interview with PEOPLE, Amanda Kline, who helped him start his social media accounts, remembers the internet icon's final days
“He gave us a lot of reassurance he was OK with passing,” she says. “We all had a peace about it, and I know Kenny did as well”
Those closest to Kenny Jary — the 84-year-old influencer known online as Patriotic Kenny — are remembering him after his death.
On May 18, the content creator's Instagram shared the tragic news that Jary, a Navy veteran with a combined following of over 4 million across Instagram and TikTok, had died. The Minnesota-based internet star had captured hearts and minds by sharing positive messages to his followers and riding his iconic electric scooter. In March, he shared that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
“The last few weeks and months with Kenny were just precious,” Amanda Kline, Jary's close friend, tells PEOPLE in an interview. “He was surrounded by people who loved him and cared about him, and he was able to pass in peace.”
Kline first met Jary in 2021, introduced through a mutual friend, and quickly they became “like chosen family,” she says. And after a while, Kline realized that his personality would be perfect for social media.
Patriotic Kenny
Credit: Patriotic Kenny/Instagram
“I noticed everybody in town loved Kenny,” she says. “Every time they'd see Kenny, they just lit up and loved him. I knew we should spread his joy a little beyond the town.”
Kline set up his TikTok account — which he gladly agreed to, even though he had no idea what TikTok was — and made his name “Patriotic Kenny,” a reference to the dozens of American flags in his yard.
Growth was slow at first — around 50 followers after a few weeks. But after Jary's mobility scooter broke down and she launched a fundraising effort to replace it, Jary went viral, and his following soared well past a million.
He also raised far more than his goal for the mobility scooter, and so Jary decided to use the extra funds to start a foundation that could help purchase mobility scooters for other veterans, armed with the mission of ending isolation for veterans and restoring their independence.
Then, a few months ago, he learned he had stage 4 lung cancer.
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“It was crushing, and it was horrific,” Kline says. “I was the one who broke the news to him, and his first response was, "I kind of had a feeling."
But his next response, Kline adds, was, “I could say it's not fair that I got cancer. But what I could also say is it's not fair that I've had the kind of life I've had for the last five years and everybody hasn't experienced that kind of life. I wish everybody could have the kind of goodness and life that I've had.”
“That's so Kenny,” says Kline. “He took the most horrific news and turned it into something positive.”
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Throughout his final weeks, Kline was by his side — tucking him into bed at night and waking him up in the morning. And she helped him fulfill his wish to stay at home, surrounded by friends and family, until the end.
When he died, Kline says, he was listening to Randy Travis — whose music he called his gospel.
“He gave us a lot of reassurance he was OK with passing,” she continued. “We all had a peace about it, and I know Kenny did as well.”
And Kline says, in her last conversation with Jary, she promised him that she would do everything in her power to keep his foundation going after he died.
“That has been his legacy and will continue to be his legacy as long as I'm around,” she says. “That's for sure.”
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: May 19, 2026 at 11:09PM on Source: RED MAG
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