FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – A Franklin County native and one of the stars of the “Moonshiner’s” television show passed away on Tuesday.
Family members said, “With sorrow, we announce that Everett “Kenny” Law passed away peacefully on January 14, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.”
Kenny Law was a third-generation distiller and was a regular on the Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners” series which has featured Franklin County. Law and his cousin, Henry Lee Law, operated Law’s Choice Distillery where they make legal moonshine in Franklin County.
On Wednesday, January 15, the Distillery announced Kenny Law’s death through a social media post.
“We will share his obituary as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone so far for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers.”
For more than 60 years, the Law family helped the region earn its reputation as the moonshine capital of the world.
Henry Lee and Kenny Law are the grandsons of Owen Law. Henry’s father, Amos, became one of the most notorious moonshiners in the country. Henry says his father taught him and Kenny the ropes when they were kids.
In 2020, Kenny Law spoke with WFXR and said, “Back in the heyday, me and him, we made about as much liquor as anybody in the country or more I would say.”
Henry agreed, “Just me and Kenny, we were knocking down, annually, 47,000 gallons a year.”
Moonshiners airs on the Discovery Channel and started in 2011. It has run for 14 seasons and follows Appalachian moonshiners who carry on a 200-year-old tradition in Franklin County, also known as the “moonshine capital of the world.” Moonshining also played a big role in the development of NASCAR during the Prohibition era as fast cars and skilled driving were needed to avoid law enforcement. In the mid-1950s, former bootleggers became some of the first NASCAR drivers.
Funeral arrangements and a cause of death for Kenny Law have currently not been announced.
Check back with WFXR News for more information soon.