Donald H Kennedy

He was a top manager of the postal system in St. Petersburg, Fla., overseeing the historic preservation and renovation of the Open Air Post Office in downtown St. Petersburg and the construction of the Northside post office on Gandy Boulevard that was his last project.

He was a veteran of the Korean War, and was injured in a skirmish. The second of four children to Andrew and Marguerite Kennedy in Buffalo’s Irish community known as the First Ward. Andy, Don, Bill and Susie grew up in a household with roots in the Depression as father Andrew worked for trucking companies and as a dock worker. Don graduated in 1950 from Bishop Timon High School, a Roman Catholic Franciscan high school for young men in south Buffalo.

He joined the Air Force in 1950, during the height of the Korean War as a communications specialist monitoring radio transmissions. Inspired by Tom Brokaw’s documentary, he wrote up his Korean War memories for his family that included this scene with his father. His big brother Andy had already left to join the Army and Don was leaving to join the Air Force:

“We’ll be fine Dad, we will both be back. I have to go now.” This was the one and only time in my life that my father ever did this. He grabbed me and hugged me. He stepped back, took off his fedora hat, and smiled a little. “Get going. They’re waiting for you. Good luck, and try to have a little fun.” I truly did not know what to say. I just looked at a man I thought I knew but I was realizing I had no idea of the depth of his feelings. “Goodbye Dad, take care of Mom, I should get some leave when basic training is done in 8 weeks or so, we’ll see you then.”

It was during this time that he married Patricia (O’Brien) and their daughter Kathy was born on his Texas air base. Once home in Buffalo, along came Ellen, Mickie and Sharon. For fun, he started teaching square dance classes in the 1960s which developed into adult and teen classes and a club where he was the “caller.” He would sing the dance instructions, similar to a DJ, for the square dance clubs every week.

In 1967 his wife Patricia (O’Brien) died unexpectedly, leaving him a single dad at age 34 with four little girls, age 13 to almost 2. Buffalo held a lot of bad memories so he moved to St. Petersburg, and he remarried into what would become a great blended family with Clara, whose girls Melinda, Arlene, Jean and Marcia were all folded into the blend of the family that in 1976 added a new daughter, Christina.

Over the years he became an official for USA Swimming for both local and national swim meets. He was the PTA president for St. Petersburg Christian School and created the Run-A-Thon fundraiser for the school. He also turned his photography hobby into becoming a skilled purveyor of Photoshop and created hundreds of tutorials on Flickr.

His self-taught computer mastery was just one way he amazed us with his thirst for new knowledge, using his iphone or the Internet to connect with both his grandkids and the world. He was also fast with a joke and a lot of Irish malarkey so once he got on Photoshop we couldn’t trust any pictures he sent us. He loved magic tricks and a good prank, and gave in return. He was just so much fun to be around.

He is survived by his Clara, his wife of 53 years, and daughters Kathleen Kennedy, Melinda Robbins, Ellen (Richard) Mosall, Arlene (Chip) Fenwick, Jean (Douglas) Pennoyer, Mickie Kennedy, Sharon (William) Wynne, Marcia (Paul) Hirsch and Christina (Lee) Fictum. He is also survived by his brother William (Karen) Kennedy of Georgetown, Texas, and his sister Susan (Charles) Betcher of Newburgh, N.Y., and dozens of nieces and nephews.

They have 23 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and 9 great-great grandchildren.

And the legacy will live on.

Services are Saturday, July 22, at Suncoast Cathedral, 2300 62nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, at 10:30 a.m. For those who can’t be in attendance, the service will be livestreamed at Live.mysuncoastchurch.com on that day and will be live at 10:30 a.m.

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to charities supported by Suncoast Cathedral. Send a check to Suncoast and in the memo line put “Benevolence: Kennedy.” Or text “mysuncoast” to 73256 for the benevolence fund. Or go online to mysuncoastchurch.com and click on the Give tab.