Melvin (Bud) J. Kennedy, 95, of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, passed away Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at Florence Home in Omaha, NE.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 PM, Monday June 3, 2019 at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Chapel with Father Joe Kadaprayil officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at 12:00 PM.
He was born November 3, 1923 at Cedar Rapids to John E. & Julia E. (Carroll) Kennedy.
Bud joined the Navy at 17, served for six years during WWII. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 when the Japanese attacked serving aboard the USS Rigel. Bud described the attack as the worst day of his life. He had small boat duty that morning returning sailors from liberty to their ship. Bud spent all day in that small boat, from sun up to sun down, recovering sailors from the oil and fire filled waters of Pearl Harbor. Bud was discharged in 1947, returning to Nebraska to work as a farmer, gas station owner, and quality control inspector at New Holland. He was employed as a mechanic for Carl Anderson in Grand Island until his retirement in 1988.
He married Bernita Jean Schoening on June 16, 1944 at St. Anthony’s in Cedar Rapid, Nebraska. To this union they had ten children, seven of which were raised in Cedar Rapid until 1957 when the family moved to Clarks and had three more children. The final move was to Grand Island in 1967 where they remained for many years until retirement.
Bud was born a mechanic and could fix anything mechanical (like his mother’s washing machine at an early age). He continued to fix and build his entire life. He especially enjoyed working on cars. Bud also enjoyed watching Husker Football always cheering “Go Big Red”.
Those left to cherish his memory include all ten children, Patty (Gerald) Poehler of Shelton, NE, Carol (Ed) McCarthy of Omaha, NE, Kathleen Bohrer of Claremont, CA, Charles (InJa) Kennedy of Waldorf, MD, Nancy (Scott) Kennedy-Hackney of Omaha, NE, Janet (Steve) Husman of Chapman, NE, Bill (Bev) Kennedy of Gibbon, NE, Michael Kennedy of Grand Island, NE, Sandra (Jay) Malone of Lincoln, NE, and Mary Kennedy of Lincoln, NE; 26 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and one on the way; two sisters, twin sister Jean Lutz of Houston, TX and JoAnn Batenhorst of Omaha, NE; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; two sisters, Maxine Robinson and Lucille Ruma; and four brothers, Leonard, Arnold, Donald, and Carroll Kennedy.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 PM, Monday June 3, 2019 at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Chapel with Father Joe Kadaprayil officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at 12:00 PM.
He was born November 3, 1923 at Cedar Rapids to John E. & Julia E. (Carroll) Kennedy.
Bud joined the Navy at 17, served for six years during WWII. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 when the Japanese attacked serving aboard the USS Rigel. Bud described the attack as the worst day of his life. He had small boat duty that morning returning sailors from liberty to their ship. Bud spent all day in that small boat, from sun up to sun down, recovering sailors from the oil and fire filled waters of Pearl Harbor. Bud was discharged in 1947, returning to Nebraska to work as a farmer, gas station owner, and quality control inspector at New Holland. He was employed as a mechanic for Carl Anderson in Grand Island until his retirement in 1988.
He married Bernita Jean Schoening on June 16, 1944 at St. Anthony’s in Cedar Rapid, Nebraska. To this union they had ten children, seven of which were raised in Cedar Rapid until 1957 when the family moved to Clarks and had three more children. The final move was to Grand Island in 1967 where they remained for many years until retirement.
Bud was born a mechanic and could fix anything mechanical (like his mother’s washing machine at an early age). He continued to fix and build his entire life. He especially enjoyed working on cars. Bud also enjoyed watching Husker Football always cheering “Go Big Red”.
Those left to cherish his memory include all ten children, Patty (Gerald) Poehler of Shelton, NE, Carol (Ed) McCarthy of Omaha, NE, Kathleen Bohrer of Claremont, CA, Charles (InJa) Kennedy of Waldorf, MD, Nancy (Scott) Kennedy-Hackney of Omaha, NE, Janet (Steve) Husman of Chapman, NE, Bill (Bev) Kennedy of Gibbon, NE, Michael Kennedy of Grand Island, NE, Sandra (Jay) Malone of Lincoln, NE, and Mary Kennedy of Lincoln, NE; 26 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and one on the way; two sisters, twin sister Jean Lutz of Houston, TX and JoAnn Batenhorst of Omaha, NE; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; two sisters, Maxine Robinson and Lucille Ruma; and four brothers, Leonard, Arnold, Donald, and Carroll Kennedy.
Melvin (Bud) J. Kennedy, 95, of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, passed away Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at Florence Home in Omaha, NE.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 PM, Monday June 3, 2019 at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Chapel with Father Joe Kadaprayil officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at 12:00 PM.
He was born November 3, 1923 at Cedar Rapids to John E. & Julia E. (Carroll) Kennedy.
Bud joined the Navy at 17, served for six years during WWII. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 when the Japanese attacked serving aboard the USS Rigel. Bud described the attack as the worst day of his life. He had small boat duty that morning returning sailors from liberty to their ship. Bud spent all day in that small boat, from sun up to sun down, recovering sailors from the oil and fire filled waters of Pearl Harbor. Bud was discharged in 1947, returning to Nebraska to work as a farmer, gas station owner, and quality control inspector at New Holland. He was employed as a mechanic for Carl Anderson in Grand Island until his retirement in 1988.
He married Bernita Jean Schoening on June 16, 1944 at St. Anthony’s in Cedar Rapid, Nebraska. To this union they had ten children, seven of which were raised in Cedar Rapid until 1957 when the family moved to Clarks and had three more children. The final move was to Grand Island in 1967 where they remained for many years until retirement.
Bud was born a mechanic and could fix anything mechanical (like his mother’s washing machine at an early age). He continued to fix and build his entire life. He especially enjoyed working on cars. Bud also enjoyed watching Husker Football always cheering “Go Big Red”.
Those left to cherish his memory include all ten children, Patty (Gerald) Poehler of Shelton, NE, Carol (Ed) McCarthy of Omaha, NE, Kathleen Bohrer of Claremont, CA, Charles (InJa) Kennedy of Waldorf, MD, Nancy (Scott) Kennedy-Hackney of Omaha, NE, Janet (Steve) Husman of Chapman, NE, Bill (Bev) Kennedy of Gibbon, NE, Michael Kennedy of Grand Island, NE, Sandra (Jay) Malone of Lincoln, NE, and Mary Kennedy of Lincoln, NE; 26 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and one on the way; two sisters, twin sister Jean Lutz of Houston, TX and JoAnn Batenhorst of Omaha, NE; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; two sisters, Maxine Robinson and Lucille Ruma; and four brothers, Leonard, Arnold, Donald, and Carroll Kennedy.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 PM, Monday June 3, 2019 at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Chapel with Father Joe Kadaprayil officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at 12:00 PM.
He was born November 3, 1923 at Cedar Rapids to John E. & Julia E. (Carroll) Kennedy.
Bud joined the Navy at 17, served for six years during WWII. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 when the Japanese attacked serving aboard the USS Rigel. Bud described the attack as the worst day of his life. He had small boat duty that morning returning sailors from liberty to their ship. Bud spent all day in that small boat, from sun up to sun down, recovering sailors from the oil and fire filled waters of Pearl Harbor. Bud was discharged in 1947, returning to Nebraska to work as a farmer, gas station owner, and quality control inspector at New Holland. He was employed as a mechanic for Carl Anderson in Grand Island until his retirement in 1988.
He married Bernita Jean Schoening on June 16, 1944 at St. Anthony’s in Cedar Rapid, Nebraska. To this union they had ten children, seven of which were raised in Cedar Rapid until 1957 when the family moved to Clarks and had three more children. The final move was to Grand Island in 1967 where they remained for many years until retirement.
Bud was born a mechanic and could fix anything mechanical (like his mother’s washing machine at an early age). He continued to fix and build his entire life. He especially enjoyed working on cars. Bud also enjoyed watching Husker Football always cheering “Go Big Red”.
Those left to cherish his memory include all ten children, Patty (Gerald) Poehler of Shelton, NE, Carol (Ed) McCarthy of Omaha, NE, Kathleen Bohrer of Claremont, CA, Charles (InJa) Kennedy of Waldorf, MD, Nancy (Scott) Kennedy-Hackney of Omaha, NE, Janet (Steve) Husman of Chapman, NE, Bill (Bev) Kennedy of Gibbon, NE, Michael Kennedy of Grand Island, NE, Sandra (Jay) Malone of Lincoln, NE, and Mary Kennedy of Lincoln, NE; 26 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren and one on the way; two sisters, twin sister Jean Lutz of Houston, TX and JoAnn Batenhorst of Omaha, NE; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; two sisters, Maxine Robinson and Lucille Ruma; and four brothers, Leonard, Arnold, Donald, and Carroll Kennedy.
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