[1] Kinney entered Mount Union College in 1942, where he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon and was appointed the school newspaper's poetry editor.

[1] His hearing began to fail at the end of high school and by his sophomore year in college he was completely deaf.

[4] Kinney received training from the deafblind department at the Industrial Home for the Blind of the City of Brooklyn (IHB), learning the manual alphabet and other forms of communication, before returning to school.

[6] In East Sparta, hundreds gathered in an auditorium to recognize his achievement on what was denoted as "Richard Kinney Day.

[7] Kinney married Evelyn Davis Warmbrodt, a blind high school French teacher, in 1962.

[1] Lions Clubs International recognized him with the Ambassador of Goodwill Award and he received a Citation for Meritorious Service from President Eisenhower.

[2][1] The Richard Kinney Challenge of Living Award is given to a Hadley student with multiple disabilities "who displays outstanding courage and educational initiative.