Necrology

Joseph Lawrence Kennedy '39

Mar. 27, 1917-Jun. 15, 2005

Joseph Lawrence Kennedy ’39, a retired advertising manager, was born on March 27, 1917, in Elmira, NY. A son of Daniel J. and Katharine Landy Kennedy (later Love) and younger brother of Daniel G. ’34 and Charles F. Kennedy ’35, he grew up in Rochester, NY, where he was graduated in 1935 from Monroe High School. “Larry” Kennedy came to College Hill that year, joined his brothers’ fraternity, Theta Delta Chi, and went out for golf and hockey. He also served as art editor of The Hamiltonian and faced the footlights with the Charlatans. Combining seriousness of purpose with a sense of humor, he earned his B.S. degree in 1939.

Interested in a career in commerce, specifically in advertising, Larry Kennedy soon discovered that ad agencies preferred employees with sales experience. Consequently he began his working life as a merchandise trainee at Sibley’s, a Rochester department store. The following year, with the requisite experience under his belt, he joined the Rumrill Advertising agency. However, World War II soon intervened, and he found himself providing primary flight instruction to fledgling pilots in Texas and Louisiana as a member of the Army Air Corps Reserve. Released from military service in 1945, he returned to Rumrill in Rochester as an account executive. On March 1, 1946, in Rochester, he was married to Jacqueline C. Sumner.

In 1948, Larry Kennedy moved to Elmira, NY, to serve as vice president of sales for the Kennedy Valve Manufacturing Co., which had been founded by his grandfather and of which his brother Charles was president. After four years, Larry decided to strike out on his own and move to Utica, where he established the Kennedy Sporting Goods Manufacturing Co. When competition from imports drove him out of business in 1959, he became a wholesale sales manager for Utica Club beer. Six years later, he was back in Rochester as advertising manager for Genesee Brewing Co., a post he would hold for 20 years until his retirement in 1985.

In retirement, Larry Kennedy devoted additional time to community service as president of the Genesee Hospital Associates and chairman of the Rochester chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). Besides providing advice and counsel to aspiring small business entrepreneurs on a volunteer basis, he offered his marketing expertise to the Executive Service Corps, affiliated with the United Way, and assisted the Center for Dispute Settlements (CDS) in its arbitration efforts. When not wintering in Florida, he and “Jac” enjoyed spending time at their small homestead, replete with a fish pond and bee hives, 35 miles south of Rochester.

J. Lawrence Kennedy was still residing in Rochester when he died on June 15, 2005. In addition to his wife of almost 60 years, he is survived by four sons, Andrew S. ’70, Stephen S., Douglas L., and Craig Kennedy; three daughters. Judith L. and Sarah E. Kennedy, and Cynthia Helander; his half-brother, William F. Love, Jr. ’52; and 14 grandchildren. Other survivors include nephews Charles C. ’62 and James O. Kennedy ’74, and nieces Carol Kennedy K’75 and Margaret Love ’83.

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