2020 -- H 8186

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LC005624

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF KEVIN JOHN KENNEDY

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Filippi, Kennedy, and Lima

     Date Introduced: December 14, 2020

     Referred To: Placed on the House Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, Kevin John Kennedy passed away on October 23, 2020, after a courageous

and tenacious battle against his illness. He was the beloved husband of Janet Kennedy and he was

the devoted father of the late Ronald John Kennedy; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Kennedy was born in Westerly, on September 3, 1959, son of the late

Ronald and Jeanette Kennedy. He is survived by his wife Janet Veldhuis Kennedy and their

beloved dog Cody. He was the brother of the Honorable Brian Patrick Kennedy, Tracey Anne

Kennedy and her husband, Ron, and Erin Beth Kennedy Celico and her husband, Robert. He is

also survived by many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, friends and colleagues; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Kennedy was a hardworking man who began his career in the building

industry working as a carpenter, including many years with his own father, where he quickly

secured a reputation for producing excellent work at fair prices. For the last nearly thirty years

Kevin excelled as an outside salesman for the Arnold Lumber Company in West Kingston. He

was their top salesman for seventeen of those years, working on the mainland and on Block

Island, selling building materials. Kevin quickly secured a reputation for quality and fairness

from his many customers and forged many close friendships with them due to their appreciation

and admiration for his tireless work ethic, honesty, and vast knowledge of issues related to the

building industry; and

     WHEREAS, Kevin was an avid outdoorsman who loved living life with his wife and dog

along the waterfront of Locustville Pond in Hope Valley, as well as enjoying the wintery snow on

his snowmobile in Vermont and Canada. Kevin also enjoyed hunting, fishing, boating, four-

wheeling, riding motorcycles, golfing, playing cards, and cooking holiday meals. He also

excelled at distance running and played softball in his younger years. Kevin was a passionate

sports fan who followed all of the Boston area sports teams and loved to watch games in person;

and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Kennedy was a graduate of, and dedicated donor to the University of

Rhode Island. He was a lifetime member of the Ashaway Sportsman's Club, the Ashaway

Volunteer Fire Department and was a loyal member of Ducks Unlimited and the Fraternal Order

of Police. He will live forever in the hearts of his loving family and many friends, and will be

long-remembered for his effervescent smile, sense of humor and generosity of spirit; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby expresses its deepest

condolences on the passing of Kevin John Kennedy; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copes of this resolution to Mrs. Janet Veldhuis Kennedy, the Honorable

Brian Patrick Kennedy, Tracey Anne Kennedy, and Erin Beth Kennedy Celico.

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