Mr. Brian Patrick Kenedy died on June 9, 2022. A true Irishman, he was the life of any party he attended, telling jokes and playing the guitar. He played and loved all sports, loved his dogs, and adored his family.
Brian is survived by his wife of 63 years, Barbara (née Sameth); son, Brian Jr. (Linda); daughter, Jennifer Kenedy Lohnes (Kurt); and eight grandchildren. He is also survived by his three sisters, Patricia Bolling, Gabrielle Kenedy, and Rosemary Mitchell.
Brian was predeceased by his son, Shaun, and by his parents, Captain Louis Kenedy and Patricia Greenidge Kenedy.
Brian was born to seafaring parents in Barbados in 1937 and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada. Brian honorably served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, ultimately working in counterintelligence. Upon leaving the Navy, Brian became a truck driver for 7-Up in the Bronx (or as he called it “transportation specialist for a local distributing company”) where he honed his self-defense skills and rose through the ranks. In 1969, Brian joined the Producer’s Council (later renamed Construction Products Manufacturers Council) in Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to executive vice president, before finishing his career as the vice president, marketing for the National Association of Realtors in Chicago.
Brian fought Alzheimer’s for the last 10 years of his life. He dealt with his disease as he did everything else in his life, bravely and with a great sense of humor. As he would say, he had “Irish Alzheimer’s” because he “forgot everything but his grudges.” Donations in his memory can be made to The Alzheimer’s Association (www.act.alz.org).
Funeral Services with military honors will be held Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 11 a.m., at Belle Haven Cemetery, with Father J. Michael Breslin officiating.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com
