Donald "Don" G. Kennedy

Donald G. Kennedy of Hilton Head Island died on February 4, 2024, just two days shy of his 98th birthday. Born February 6, 1926 in Buffalo, New York to parents Dewey Kennedy and Sara Colwell, Don grew up in Buffalo, NY, Tarpon Springs and St. Petersburgh, Florida, graduating from St. Petersburgh High School in 1943. He entered the Navy in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corp and earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech while serving aboard the USS Hyman immediately after WWII. After leaving the Navy, he earned an MBE from Cornell University, and went to work for Hazeltine in New York. In 1954, he was sent to work in London, England, where he met Wendy Storey. They married in 1955 and subsequently moved to Long Island, NY. In 1960, Don and Wendy moved to Massachusetts with their children, where Don worked for Sylvania Electronics, a division of General Telephone. In 1969, the family moved to the Middle East and then to Europe, where they remained until late in 1982. In 1984, Don retired from GT&E to begin a successful consulting career. He also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and, later, FINRA well into his nineties. Don and Wendy moved to Hilton Head, SC, in 1985, and spent many summers in Chautauqua, NY, creating many memories with their children and grandchildren. He enjoyed skiing and sailing with his family. Wendy passed away in 2022 after a prolonged illness. Don is survived by his children and their spouses, Kevin and wife Amy, Karen and husband Boris, and Bobbie, as well as his seven grandchildren, Emily, Francesca, Jesse, Johnathan, Tiffany, Dominique and Samari.