Captain James J. Kennedy, 82, USN retired, died October 22, 2011 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Captain Kennedy served our country in the Navy for 37 years.
He is survived by his childhood sweetheart of 61 years, Marion Murphy Kennedy;four children, Thomas Lynn, Gary, Susan Bobby, Jimmy and his wife Lea
Anne; nine grandchildren, Gary, Danny Bianca, Tommy Rachel, Lindsay, Amanda, Sarah Jereme, Kelsi, Dallas, and Walker; seven great grandchildren, Colin, Caleb, Finn, Jameson, Maci, Griffin, and JJ; favorite niece, Marion Murphy Guilford; cousins; and many good friends.

Jim Kennedy’s hobbies included master gardening, woodworking, volunteering at the Central Library, camping, fishing, and enjoying activities with his grandchildren. Jim and Marion enjoyed traveling throughout Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, Alaska, and the United States.

He joined the Navy in 1951 as an airman apprentice and quickly advanced to Chief Petty Officer in less than ten years, an achievement that was rare for that era. Having reached the pinnacle of the enlisted rate structure, he applied for and was accepted into the Limited Duty Officer LDO Program. Once again, he excelled in his assignments advancing to the rank of Captain. He was the FIRST LDO to achieve that rank.

During his thirty-seven years of service, Captain Kennedy was assigned to various ships, aircraft squadrons, and staff positions within the Naval Aviation community FASRON 2, ATKRON 83, USS Intrepid, USS Raleigh LPD 1, Attack Squadron 76, USS Enterprise, Naval Air Station Oceana, Attack Squadron 75, USS Saratoga, Attack Squadron 42, CARAIRWING 8, USS Nimitz, Naval Safety Center,
CAEWWING 12, NAVAIRSYSCOMHQ AIR-411. He received numerous awards during his career; among those were the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” Meritorious Unit Commendation 2, Good Conduct Medal 3, National Defense Service Medal 2, Vietnam Service Medal 3, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon 4, Vietnam Campaign Medal with
Device, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

Many thanks to Liza’s Residential Care; Dr. Ellen Peterman; Cardiovascular Associates; Becky Stephen and the third floor nursing staff; Palliative Care
Specialists; and Hospice at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital.

A mass will be held on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Oceana Naval Air Station. The family will meet with friends at the Knights of Columbus, 1236 Prosperity Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, following the mass.

Internment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research or the American Heart Association.

To Jim: Now, Always, and Forever……M

For an online guestbook, please visit www.cremate.org.