Kennedy, Deirdre Irene, 59, Dorchester, MA, March 17, 2019. Deirdre, Dee to family and friends, died after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. She was the daughter of Geraldine Kennedy of Mansfield (formerly of West Roxbury) and the late John Kevin Kennedy, sister of John Kennedy Jr. and his wife Peggy of Ossining, NY, Kathleen Collins and her husband, Mark of West Roxbury, twin of Fr. William Kennedy, a Navy Chaplain stationed in Washington DC, sister of the late Kyran Kennedy and his wife Kathleen of VA, Neil Kennedy of Medway, Maura Messinger and her husband Charles of Canton, Christopher Kennedy and his wife Donna of Lynn, Kara DiSandro and her husband Robert of Mansfield, and Patricia Kennedy of Canton. "Aunt Dee" will be missed by many nieces and nephews.
Dee was a much-loved figure in each of the many families she called her own. Twin to Bill, she was the fourth of ten children raised in West Roxbury. Despite being fourth, Dee was generally recognized by all as “the boss” because of her wisdom, generosity, and her unwavering sense of responsibility to and for others. Dee graduated from Boston Latin Academy in 1977, the year the school’s name was changed from Girls’ Latin School. She went on to graduate from Wellesley College in 1981with a double major in Spanish and Psychology. It was at Wellesley that she made life-long friends, honed her intellectual skills, and undertook the serious acquisition of her second language. Upon graduation, she moved to Madrid, Spain to perfect her Spanish and become truly fluent, and there made more life-long friends. Returning to Boston after two years, Dee began her work in the Boston community as an ESL teacher, an Assistant to a Boston School Committee Member, and then as a probation officer at Dorchester District Court. It was working within the community that Dee found and lived out her passion for quietly helping others. She earned two master’s degrees, from UMASS Boston and UMASS Lowell, which allowed her to delve into the unique needs of the community she served and loved.
As a domestic violence expert, she worked within the Boston Police Department to establish the Family Justice Center, a program that provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence under one roof. In addition, she worked on the issue of domestic violence at the national level. She eventually returned to probation at the Dorchester District Court and has served as the Chief Probation Officer there since 2013. Throughout her nearly 25 years at the court, she has worked tirelessly to protect the lives of those in the community in which she, herself, lived and to improve the lives of all who walked through the doors of Dorchester District Court.
Dee will forever be remembered as a fierce and loyal friend, and a humble, intelligent, devoted, compassionate, generous, witty, bargain-hunting, Girls’ Latin/Wellesley woman.
Funeral from the William J. Gormley Funeral Home, 2055 Centre St. WEST ROXBURY, Thursday, March 21st at 9am, followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Theresa Church at 10 o’clock. Visiting hours Wednesday, 2-4 and 7-9 pm. Relatives and friends invited. For directions and guestbook, www.gormleyfuneral.com
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Eva Center, 989 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02215 or to the Kyran E. Kennedy Scholarship Fund, UMASS Boston, University Advancement, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125-3393.