'Man Of Faith': $50K Raised For Woodstock Man Who Died Of Cancer

WOODSTOCK, GA — Mike Kinsey was at peace the morning he died of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, said his only son, Trent Kinsey.

The 63-year-old Woodstock resident who worked at a school in Roswell died Saturday while at the hospital with his family by his side. Aside from his son, Kinsey had two daughters, a wife of nearly 39 years and six grandchildren.

Kinsey, a lifelong Christian-based educator, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he began feeling discomfort toward the end of January.

Trent Kinsey said the doctor thought his father had an inflamed gall bladder and scheduled him for surgery on Feb. 17. It was then that physicians learned the discomfort was not Kinsey's gall bladder; it was cancer.

In the 10 days he was at home after being in the hospital, the cancer would grow.

He endured one round of chemotherapy before the cancer took a turn for the worse on March 3, Trent Kinsey said. Medical professionals kept Kinsey stable for around a day before he died Saturday.

"We are in shock," Trent Kinsey said. "I don’t really know another way to describe it."

The family has set up a GoFundMe for Kinsey, which has raised more than $50,000 of their $100,000 goal to assist with medical bills and funeral costs. Trent Kinsey said his family is grateful for the financial support.

He said he wants his father's legacy to be rooted his work guiding young people to God.

"He did not want this to be about him," Trent Kinsey said of his father. "He wanted it to be about God. He wanted it to be about the Lord and his relationship with Him. ... He knew where he was going, and he believed when he died, he would be in God’s presence, and we knew that, too."

Trusting that his father is with God is how the family is coping with his death, Trent Kinsey said, adding that the family is holding on to their faith and the promises of God to get through this tough time.

Meeting Mike

Kinsey was the quietest person in his household, but Trent Kinsey said he was also the funniest. He married his wife, Cecille, in June 1984 and relocated to Georgia.

Born in Richmond, Indiana, he later moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he was raised through his high school years before attending college in New York.

Trent Kinsey said his parents met in Kentucky. They lived in Dallas and Marietta before moving to Woodstock in 1999.

Kinsey's career in private school Christian education began around 1983-84. He taught at Eastside Christian School in Marietta from 1985-2006, where he coached basketball and was a physical education teacher. He began working at Fellowship Christian School in Roswell as a Bible school teacher and golf coach in 2006 until his death.

After learning of his death, Trent Kinsey said Fellowship canceled school Monday to allow teachers to grieve. A school assembly was held Tuesday to help students cope with their emotions and honor Kinsey.

Attending Duke University basketball games and watching them on T.V. are some of the fondest memories Trent Kinsey has with his father, who loved to golf and do yard work.

Trent Kinsey said his desire is for people to know who his father was in life.

"He wants to be remembered as someone whose mission and calling in life (was) to introduce people, and especially young people, to Jesus Christ and to God’s Word," Trent Kinsey said.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11, at Stonecreek Church, 13540 GA-9 in Alpharetta.

Editor's Note: Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.