Larry Lee Kennedy passed away due to double-lung pneumonia Friday, May 24, 2019, at Life Care Center in Lewiston, following a 3½-month up-and-down struggle after falling and fracturing his hip.
Larry was born June 7, 1928, in Addy, Wash. He was one of seven children: four sisters and two brothers. He was born to Hugh H. Kennedy and Dolly McMillion Kennedy. Larry was raised in Spokane until the sixth grade, then Pierce for two years, then Lewiston, where he attended school and spent his summers working at Waha for a sawmill on the green chain.
Larry joined the U.S. Navy at age 17. From 1945 to 1949, he was assigned to two different destroyers: the DD 672 Healy and the DD 711 Green, a pipe fitter on damage control and a loader on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun. He very much enjoyed telling friends stories and reminiscing over the “good times” of traveling the world by sea and swimming in water that was more than 12,000 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean.
After he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy, he traveled to Chicago to attend trade school for auto body and collision repair. After graduating and moving back to Lewiston in 1951, Larry began his career at the Dodge-Plymouth dealership, where he met the love of his life, Bonnie J. Marek, in 1951. They married Aug. 14, 1954, and remained happily married for 64 years. In 1961, they started their family and had a son, John Lee Kennedy.
Larry later went on to work at McMonagle Chevrolet from 1963 to 1974. In 1975, they opened up Kennedy’s Body and Paint in Lewiston. He retired in 1998, but still very much appreciated coming in every day and talking with staff and customers about life.
He really enjoyed baseball and watching the Mariners every chance he had. He also loved coaching: three seasons of Midget League, three seasons of Junior League, three seasons of Babe Ruth League and 12 years of men’s softball. He even kept every person’s batting average annually. He also enjoyed fishing and target shooting and being around family and loved ones.
Larry Lee Kennedy is survived by his wife, Bonnie, and son, John, sister Thelma Burcham and many amazing friends.
A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Malcom’s Brower-Wann Funeral Home, with graveside service following at Normal Hill Cemetery.
Service Information
- Date & Time
- Saturday, June 1, 11:00 AM
- Location
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Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home
1711 18th Street
Lewiston, ID 83501
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1711 18th Street