Dolores "Kay" Kennedy

Dolores was preceded in death by her beloved husband Lloyd Sr.; sons Lloyd Jr. and Larry; sister, Henrietta Dawson; and great-grandson Carson Kennedy.

She is survived by her sons, Daral and wife Rosemary; Garry and wife Pamela; sister, Joan Dillinger and husband, Kenneth; daughter-in-law, Jolene Kennedy; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Dolores had a difficult childhood and was virtually (An Artful Dodger) on the streets of San Francisco from ages four to eight. She ended up being rescued by the Child Protective Services of the day and spent the rest of her youth in Catholic care, in Catholic orphanages and boarding schools until she was 16 years old. She did not finish high school at that time.

She met Lloyd Kennedy in 1941 and married him in May of 1942. She was 18 and he was 20. World War II was 5 months old and a short time later Lloyd was drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned to the Army Air Corp. Lloyd was in Greenland when he was sent home on a medical leave and placed in a hospital in New York. They initially thought he might die but he didn’t and was given an honorable discharge. While he was gone in the military his first son, Lloyd Jr. was born in 1943. Dolores gave him sons, Daral in 1944 and Garry and Larry in 1948.

In 1944, Dolores and Lloyd took their two sons, Lloyd Jr. and Daral and left San Francisco and moved to Fresno, CA. While there, Lloyd worked for IRS and Dolores worked for the telephone company. In 1946, Dolores got her little sisters, Henrietta and Joan out of foster care and brought them to live with her in Fresno. She always loved her sisters and maintained a loving relationship with them. In 1949, the family moved from Fresno to Riverdale, CA with two new sons, twins Garry and Larry. In Riverdale, Lloyd Sr. continued to establish his private accounting business.

At first Dolores was upset at the move to a small town, but she soon came to love it. She grew to love Riverdale life and the sense of community, something she had never had growing up. She thrived on being involved. She was twice PTA president and a Cub Scout Den Mother. She developed friends for life in Riverdale, especially Ruby Dorn.

In 1952, Dolores and Lloyd took-up the sport of Roller Skating at the Wonderland Skating Rink in Fresno. The entire family became competitive skaters. Dolores and Lloyd became very proficient at dance skating and numerous times won the Valley Championship. In 1963, her four sons and husband formed a hockey team named the “Kennedy Marauders” and in 1965 they won the California - Nevada - Arizona Conference Championship and then made the final six play-offs finishing fifth in the nation. At that time, there were 103 teams competing in the U.S.A. Dolores was their greatest supporter, cheerleader and she was forever washing and mending their uniforms.

In 1961, Dolores and her family moved to Clovis, CA where her husband continued his accounting business. Dolores enrolled in the Clovis Adult School and in 1965 she became a Clovis High School graduate.

Dolores always loved being a homemaker as well as working outside the home. Along with assisting her husband with his accounting business, she held many other jobs. Her other occupations included sales and bookkeeping responsibilities at places such as: Gottschalks, the Golden Hanger, Sunnyside Country Club, Clovis Independent, Lauck’s Bakery, Sees Candy, and GW School Supply. However, her favorite occupation was managing and owning with her husband the Imperial Roller Skating Rink in Hanford and teaching skating. She and Lloyd Sr. also managed Icelandia Ice Skating Rink in Fresno when it first opened. She also gave skating lessons at her son Lloyd’s roller skating rink, Circle K Skate Ranch in Fresno. In later years she and her son Larry ran their own fun business selling toys and other items at fairs and swap meets.

Though her childhood was very difficult, she never complained of it to her children, friends, or others, rather she always looked to tomorrow with a joyful love for life. She always said that the best thing that ever happened to her was her husband. They shared 47 years of marriage before his death in 1989. She did not date anyone else in her life nor did she after his death. Lloyd was truly the love of her life and she longed to be reunited with him. And today she is.

She loved her Jesus and her Country and told everyone she met about her love for both. She would not let the world change her love for Jesus, but rather she, changed the world with that love. No one was a stranger to her, for she knew what it was like to be homeless and familyless. She forever took in the wounded and broken hearted souls of life. She always hoped for, and saw the best in people, even when they themselves couldn’t.

For when Dolores was a little six year old girl, she had accepted Jesus at a small soup kitchen Church where a lovely lady told her about Jesus and Dolores’ place in Heaven to come. So the little child Dolores, in all the sadness and turmoil of the world in which she lived, wished upon the Star of Heaven, Jesus. She followed the Star and found Him to be true.

She now belongs to the Saints Triumphant, and she now brings her glow to the House of the Lord.