New Bedford – Eugene M. Kennedy, 88, of Westport, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island, died at Sacred Heart Home on August 27, 2005, he had been in declining health. He was the husband of Mary (Loftus) Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania son of the late Martin P. and Mary (Connor) Kennedy. He was a communicant of St. John the Baptist Church, Westport. He was a U.S Army veteran of WW II. An alumnus of Georgetown University and the University of Scranton, he moved to Whitinsville, Massachusetts in 1942 to begin what was to be a lifelong career as an executive in the textile machinery business. At retirement, he was the president of Whitin Roberts, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the former president of the American Textile Machinery Association and the Charlotte Textile Club and was a director of the North Carolina Textile Association. Mr. Kennedy was also the groundbreaking chairman of Discovery Place (the Charlotte Nature Museum), a former member of the Textile Advisory Council of North Carolina State University and a past trustee of Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts.
Mr. Kennedy was a lifelong golfer who had his first taste of the game playing with his father at Abbington Hills Country Club near Scranton, Pennsylvania, Mr. Kennedy was a past president of the Whitinsville Golf Club as well as a member of the Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte and the Acoaxet Club in Westport. A lover of classical music and English poetry, he took immense pleasure in his surroundings and was especially fond of Westport. He was devoted to his large extended family.
In addition to his widow, he is survived by 2 sons: Eugene M. Kennedy, Jr. of New York City, NY and Westport and John T. Kennedy of Geneva, Switzerland and Westport; 2 daughters: Mary Ellen Kennedy of Larchmont, New York and Westport and Barbara Kennedy Slaight of Scarsdale, New York and Westport; 6 grandchildren: Eugene M. Kennedy III of NY, NY, Austin Kennedy of NY, NY, Evan Kennedy of St. Paul, Minnesota, Jane Kennedy of Geneva Switzerland, John Slaight and Jill Slaight both of Scarsdale, NY; and several nieces & nephews.
He was brother of the late Mary O’Hora, Ruth Casey and Dr. Paul Kennedy.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend:
A Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 10:00 A.M. at St. John the Baptist Church, Main Road, Westport.
Interment in Beech Grove Cemetery, Westport.