Patricia L. Kennedy

Pat was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her plans to become a dental hygienist in the Navy were dashed when an enterprising Marine Corps recruiter persuaded Pat to enlist in the Marine Corps instead. After completing basic training at Parris Island, SC, in 1952, Pat was transferred to Camp Lejeune, NC, where she worked in the supply depot, earning the pretty, young Marine the nickname, "Depot Dazzler," from her fellow Marines.

While riding in a Philadelphia subway train, Pat first laid her eyes on the handsome Marine who would become her husband of nearly 65 years, Thomas Joseph Kennedy. Pat and Tom married on September 25, 1954, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Pat rose to the rank of sergeant before leaving the Marine Corps in 1955 to begin a family. Together, Pat and Tom raised six children, Patricia Paul, Sharon Kennedy, Maureen Kennedy, Diane C. Kennedy, Thomas J. (Cindy) Kennedy, Jr., and Kathleen R. (Gregg) Horner. In 1967, while stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, Tom was deployed to Vietnam, leaving Pat to care for their six children, aged 10 and under, on her own for a year, far from her east coast family. When Tom returned from Vietnam, the family moved to Kansas City, MO, where Pat and Tom made their permanent home. Tom later wrote a Mother’s Day tribute to Pat's devotion to her family, published in the Kansas City Star, which read in part: “Each of those jewels [in her mother’s ring] represents not only the birth month of her children, but also the blood, sweat and tears associated with rearing them. . . . She is not a ‘working mother,’ but her day is endless with little appreciation or thanks for her efforts. Through almost 30 years of married life she has been a devoted wife, and a tireless and unselfish mother. She is most deserving of the title ‘Mother of the Year’ this or any other year.”

Pat remained dedicated to the Marine Corps throughout her life, and served as Chaplain of the Women Marines Association in Kansas City. She regularly attended Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church until her health failed. Besides her family, faith, and the Corps, Pat loved watching the KC Royals and Chiefs; chocolate chip cookies; and a succession of crooners, including Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias and Daniel O'Donnell, not necessarily in that order. Pat is also remembered for her annual Easter Egg Hunt, which grew over the years to include many family friends.

Pat is predeceased by her husband, Tom; her parents Hugh P. and Rose (Westerman) Harkins; and her brothers, Hugh, Bernard and Neil Harkins. She is survived by her sisters, Grace Butterwick and Mary Langensiepen. She is also survived by her six children; her grandchildren Brian (Andrea) Collier; Kathryn (David) Hamilton; Shannon (Benjamin) Hemenway; Casey Ann (Ben) Field; Thomas J. Kennedy, III; Iain Horner; and Maren Horner, nine great-grandchildren; honorary "daughter," Terry (Richard) Vanzandt; and former son-in-law Jerry T. Collier.

Visitation will be held at McGilley State Line Chapel on Sunday, October 6, 2019, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 7, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. Interment, with full military honors, will be at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas, on October 8, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Our Lady of Good Counsel Church or the Women Marines Association.