Bob Kennedy

Bob Kennedy was hard-working and determined. Having multiple skills and interests, he reinvented himself several times in the work place. He liked the adventure of travel yet felt comfortable at home whether tending his garden and yard or entertaining family and friends. He was funny and liked being a bit crazy, but in a crisis situation, Bob was calm and collected. Others might panic, but Bob always knew what to do, and he could be counted on to help whenever anyone was in need.

Bob’s story began in Lodi, Ohio at a time of optimism in American life, when the nation was recovering from WWII. Families had sacrificed much yet maintained the determination to make the world a better place for their children. One such family was Roy and Marietta (Hallock) Kennedy, who welcomed Bob into their lives on May 23, 1948. He was one of four children Who moved to the Columbus area when he was five years old; then the family moved to West Jefferson.

Bob’s All-American childhood included baseball and the great outdoors, music and cars. He and his buddies played outside from dawn to dusk, often camping out in the woods all day. He played little league baseball and became quite a good catcher. Having learned to play the saxophone in middle school, Bob played in the high school band (that’s where the girls were), and he drove a pearl white 1948 Plymouth.

In 1966, Bob graduated from W. Jefferson High School and enlisted in the US Air Force. He had to sell his Plymouth but when Bob entered the service to be a medic, he was setting himself on a course that would interest him for life. He trained in Texas and then volunteered for duty in Viet Nam from April ’67-’68. He finished out his four year commitment at Loring AFB in Caribou, Maine, but not before he met the girl who would become his wife.

During his tour of duty, Bob and Mary Jo became pen pals through what Bob's brother describes as "a series of freak accidents!". Bob and Mary Jo had never met when they started writing during her last year of high school. When they finally did meet, it was very brief. As it happened, Bob was passing through O’Hare Airport on his way to Viet Nam, and Mary Jo arranged to connect with him for 10 minutes in the terminal. That was long enough for them to notice that Bob was shorter than Mary Jo, but Bob said "it doesn't matter as long as I keep my hat on!". They continued to write throughout that year, and were able to spend a week together in Wisconsin when Bob stopped there before heading home to Ohio. Bob then headed off to his base in Maine, and Mary Jo visited a few times before eventually quitting college in Milwaukee at age 19...much to her parents' dismay!... and joining him on the east coast. They were married June 6, 1970 in Milwaukee at St. Margaret Mary Church and immediately headed back to Maine.

Bob and Mary Jo made a honeymoon out of the drive back east, making their way through Canada in their 1970 orange Ford Maverick. Unfortunately, they were in an automobile accident that totaled the car, but the two of them were unhurt. The newlyweds were just happy to be together, living on base until Bob’s discharge in October 1970.

The adventure of work and job placement began when Bob and Mary Jo moved to Washington DC for his year-long training at a Cardiovascular Tech School. The couple then lived in Winston Salem, NC for 18 months before moving to DC for another 10 months. In 1974, Bob landed his job at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the couple settled in Gobles, a half-way point between their two families in Ohio and Wisconsin. Bob began work there as a cardiovascular technologist, eventually being promoted to Director of the Department. After 13 years with Bronson, Bob made a move to Perrigo Company, a manufacturer of health care products. He started there on the production line and progressed to second-shift supervisor over the 18 years of employment. He always took pride in having raised himself through the ranks, even though he stopped his formal education with high school. He retired in 2007, but wasn't quite finished working.

Bob trained to become a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and most recently he worked part time with disabled adults through a program at Western Michigan University. He formed a particularly strong bond with one of the men, Pete. Bob always said how much they looked like "Mutt and Jeff" on their weekly trips to the grocery store. Pete was 6'5" and Bob was (shall we say) not as tall.

Home life with two children and eventually grandchildren gave Bob the opportunity to combine chores with fun. He liked mowing his 3.5 acre yard and giving the kids a ride on his speedy mower. He raised chickens and grew vegetables, made delicious spaghetti sauce and cooked exclusively on his Weber (no gas grill for him!) His specialties were grilled ribs, brats and beer-can chicken and he hosted many pig roast parties over the years. Bob didn’t mind taking a long time to prepare food—it was worth the wait. Then he had the pleasure of sitting in his barn, smoking a cigar, and enjoying the peace and quiet of his land, listening to Sunday Night Blues on the radio.

Bob became a bit of a beer aficionado—making his own home brew and enjoying the microbrewery beers available in the area. Some favorite spots were Bells in Kalamazoo, Paw Paw Brewery, Main Street Pub and a visit to Murawski’s in Gobles was required with any out of town company. He liked to talk about beer, describing in detail everything he knew about the beers they sampled. Recently, he and Mary Jo did a tour of “Yooper Bars” in the U.P. He even brewed up a special batch for Mary Jo’s 50th birthday party and labeled it “MJ’s 50/50.” Bob was all about making Mary Jo whatever he thought she would like, especially great Irish coffee and cosmopolitans. He may not have been handy around the house, but Bob sure made life sweet for Mary Jo.

Bob never considered himself a “joiner,” but working on the Gobles Community Thanksgiving Basket Committee was an important involvement for many years. His commitment for this project stemmed from working with his father in West Jefferson, as a boy, to help distribute Thanksgiving baskets. He felt strongly that everyone in need deserved a basket, without judgment. He would even pull Joe out of school on the day the baskets were packed and distributed in hopes that this tradition will continue.

And although he was definitely not a “joiner” there was one “social club” he automatically became a part of by default. Bob was one of the infamous Outlaws within the Condran family – deemed so by those who married in to the group. Urs, John and Mike lost an Outlaw on September 8th and the group will never be the same.

Bob and Mary Jo traveled quite a bit, and had many opportunities provided by friends and families spread throughout the country and beyond. They traveled to Alaska to visit two brothers when the kids were younger, to England, Germany and Italy when Lora and Steve lived in London, to Ireland with Mary Jo’s high school friends when they all turned 50, on a Caribbean cruise for their 30th anniversary, to Florida several times to visit his sister, Ann and Mary Jo’s brother Michael, as well as friends, and did an annual “Up North” trip to a Glen Lake cabin with Jeff and Sharon. Favorite cities were Boston, where Steve, Lora, Annabelle and Sam live, Baltimore where Joe and Julie live, San Francisco, and New Orleans…because they are fun! Still, there was no place like home for the holidays, and Bob loved the family traditions that surrounded their celebrations.

In recent years since his retirement from Perrigo, Bob was an avid reader. He sometimes read books recommended by Mary Jo and her Book Club, but particularly enjoyed nonfiction, adventure stories, and a detective series set in the Upper Peninsula. Bob could also create his own entertainment in the stories he told. He was a good storyteller, because he knew how to embellish fact OR fiction, and his writing style always produced a very readable Christmas letter.

Bob had dealt with and kept his diabetes under control for many years. He had also suffered with coronary artery disease. He died unexpectedly Monday, September 8, 2014 at his home. Family and friends will miss his quick wit and humor, his care and compassion.

Robert Roy Kennedy, age 66 of Gobles, Michigan, was preceded in death by his parents and by a sister, Linda Jean Ball. Surviving are his wife of 44 years, Mary Jo Kennedy; 2 children: Lora (Steve) Wilson and Joe (Julie) Kennedy; 2 grandchildren: Annabelle and Sam, and another little girl is expected any day; 2 siblings: Royale Ann Matthews and Jeff Kennedy (Sharon Roney); brothers and sisters-in-law: Pat (Ursula) Condran, Ann (John) Burda, Tim Condran, Michael Condran, Kathy (Mike) Coleman and Jamie Dickerson and many nieces and nephews. Visit with his family and friends while sharing some food and refreshments on Thursday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at the Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler-Kalamazoo, 6080 Stadium Drive; 375-2900 where services will be held Friday 11AM. A luncheon will follow in the Life Story Center. Burial at Ft. Custer National Cemetery. Please visit Bob’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can archive a favorite memory or photo and sign his online guestbook before coming to the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Disabled American Veterans or a charity of your choice.