Joseph Kennedy

Joe Kennedy passed away peacefully of natural causes just before sunrise on Wednesday, March 16, 2005. Joseph Clair Kennedy was born in a farmhouse near Mendon, Ohio on April 15, 1918 to John and Cora Kennedy, the second of two boys. Growing up on the Kennedy farm, he attended school in Mendon and then on to College at Ohio's Bowling Green State University. As a young boy, Joe took a keen interest in science and nature. Inquisitive of mind, he joined the Ohio National Guard and became interested in aviation and radio. He worked his way up from "grease monkey" to aircraft mechanic to flight instructor. He was employed by TWA for a brief time at the outset of WWII, and then flew for a small charter service out of Detroit, Michigan. In 1945 he hired-on with Northwest Airlines and was soon flying routes to the Pacific Northwest. He fell in love with Western Washington and also with a NWA Stewardess, Gerry Baldwin of Willmar, Minnesota. Joe and Gerry were married in Spokane and moved to Seattle in 1946. They bought two acres of land and he proceeded over time to turn the bare parcel into what he liked to think of as his own little nature preserve complete with trees, gardens, bird houses, raccoon dens, fish ponds, an unbelievably elaborate squirrel obstacle course and a hand-built swimming pool he and Gerry shared with the entire neighborhood. Joe had a wonderful and long career with Northwest Airlines, flying nearly all their aircraft from props to jets, at one time said to have accumulated more trans-Pacific flight hours than any other commercial pilot because, in these early days, the flights from Seattle to Tokyo were extremely long. He was a highly-respected and skilled pilot and for a time served as a check pilot for Northwest. When the airline decided to retire his favorite aircraft in 1976, the Boeing 707, Joe decided that would be a good time for him to retire as well, but he continued to pilot his own airplanes for nearly 20 years after that: the Piper Super Cub in which he and his son Pat had many adventures, and later the 4-passenger Piper Comanche, over the years enjoying family trips from coast to coast and from the Arctic Circle to the tip of the Baja and into Southern Mexico. He taught his son Pat, and many other young pilots to fly. In fact, Pat soloed in the Super Cub before he even had a driver's license. Joe volunteered his time with the King County Sheriff's Department as a deputy, worked many years with the local Highline Food Bank (some will remember Joe there with his faithful little black dog "Doc") and supported many charities. He was an enthusiastic gardener, tinkerer and craftsman and enjoyed working in his yard or work shop up to his last year. Joe is survived by his wife of 59 years, Gerry, and his daughters Shannon Lundstrom (husband Phil Lundstrom) and Erin Ray (husband Don Ray) and granddaughters Sarah and Kelsey Ray all of Normandy Park; nephew Timothy Kennedy (wife Sandra), grand niece Brook Sipe (husband Carey) and their daughter great grand niece Kennedy Sipe, and nephew Ryan Kennedy of Ohio. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, his elder brother Merlin and son Pat (1979). He will be dearly missed by family and friends alike. Being a lifelong pilot and aviation enthusiast, Joe had taken a keen interest in the development of a modern turboprop airplane being designed and built specifically for the needs of missions and humanitarian aviation organizations serving isolated and impoverished people in otherwise inaccessible regions of the world. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests tax deductible contributions toward the start of manufacture in 2006 by this not-for-profit endeavor be made in Joe's memory to the Quest Aircraft Charitable Fund and mailed to NCCF, 7730 SW 31st Avenue, Portland, OR 97219 ( www.questaircraft.com ) or Highline Hospice, 12844 Military Rd S, Tukwila, WA 98168. A service of remembrance and celebration of Joe's life will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday March 26, 2005 at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Normandy Park, Washington (corner of 1st Avenue South and Normandy Road).