Obituary of Jean Marie Kennedy

Link to Video Recording of Funeral Mass:  https://youtu.be/rrHIGlU1mUU

It is with deep sorrow, but with a spirit of faith and hope, we announce that Jean Marie (MacGregor) Kennedy, 89, a daughter of the late John MacMillan MacGregor and Mary Catherine Duggan MacGregor died in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital on September 4, 2022.  She is survived by her sister, Mary “Margaret” MacGregor-MacDonald, her sisters-in-law, Marion MacGregor, Hazel Kennedy, Muriel Kennedy and Jean (Roderick) Chisholm, all of Antigonish; her four daughters and three sons-in-law, Helen, Mary (Donald Joseph) Farrell, Alma (Gregory Lewis) Farrell all of Antigonish and Edith (Joseph Gerard) Farrell of Dartmouth, six grandchildren Charles Joseph Farrell,Antigonish; Maria Jean Farrell (Steve Renaud), Burlington, ON; Catherine Kathleen Farrell; Ryan Gregory Farrell; and Kristine Marjorie Farrell all of Antigonish; and Iain Joseph Farrell, Dartmouth.  She is predeceased by her husband Charles David Kennedy, daughter Margaret “Colleen” Kennedy, brother John (Jack) MacGregor and sister Helen MacGregor, as well as several brothers and sisters-in-law.

Born in 1933 in Upper South River, Antigonish County, Jean obtained her Grade XII and attended Provincial Normal College in Truro.  She then taught school in Lakedale, Fraser’s Mills, Upper South River, and Lochaber as well as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School in Montreal, Quebec.  From 1958-1971, she was the manager of Simpson Sears Order Office in Antigonish.  She married Charles Kennedy in September 1964.  In addition to raising their five daughters, she co-owned and managed Charles D. Kennedy Trucking Limited until 1984.  She then worked until her retirement in 1998 at St. Francis Xavier University in the Alumni Aquatic Centre.

Jean was a longtime member of the Catholic Women’s League and an active member of the Liberal Party of Canada. 

A sincere thank you to the health professionals for the excellent care and compassion shown to Jean and for always treating her like family. 

Visitation will be held from 2-4 and 7-9 pm on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Funeral Mass 11 am Thursday in St. Ninian Cathedral, Rev. Danny MacLennan presiding. Burial in St. Andrew's Cemetery at a later date. The funeral mass will be livestreamed and a video recording will be available on this page later on Thursday. 

Donations in Jean’s memory may be made to the Antigonish Fuel Fund and the M. Colleen Kennedy Memorial Bursary in care of St. Francis Xavier University. 

The family requests that masks be worn at the visitation and funeral Mass.