Patricia J. (Hannah) Kennedy

Patricia June Kennedy died peacefully on January 15, in her room at Manchester Commons at the age of ninety. She had resided in the Woodside Place memory care unit since 2016. Pat was born in Erie on April 12, 1929, the daughter of Clyde and Geraldine Hannah. She grew up in Fairview and, after the death of her mother in 1943, lived with her grandmother, Ola Hauck.  In 1945, she moved to Corry and lived with a cousin, Verla Leonard, an art teacher. There, she met the love of her life, John R. Kennedy, whom she married soon after their graduation in 1946 from Corry High School. A son, John Gerald (Jerry), was born in 1947 and a daughter, Kathleen Elsa, followed in 1950. A second son, Christopher Henry, was born in 1961. Pat and John were longtime active members of the First Presbyterian Church in Corry, where Pat was an Associate in Christian Education, church secretary, and choir member. Following John’s promotion to a new position with General Telephone Company in Erie, the couple moved to Fairview. There, they became members of the Fairview Presbyterian Church, where Pat was ordained a Deacon and later served as an Elder and as president of the Women’s Association. After all of her children had completed college degrees, she belatedly earned an Associate Degree in Accounting from Erie Business Center. She worked as an office manager for Dr. Keck in Fairview and then helped to operate an office of Planned Parenthood in Erie. In 1997, Pat and John returned in retirement to Corry and resumed active membership in the local Presbyterian Church. They also enjoyed spending winters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where for a time all three of their children were affiliated with LSU and raising families. Until the onset of memory loss, Pat was an avid reader and a competitive Scrabble player who loved good books, cats, crossword puzzles, and classical music. She was preceded in death by her husband, John, who died in 2011. Her son, Christopher, died in 2008, and a grandson, Robert Allen Kennedy, died in 2012. Her sister, Marilyn (Pinky) Platz passed away at Manchester Place in 2017. Pat is survived by her son, Jerry, and his wife, Sarah; by her daughter, Kathy, and husband Kent Mathewson; by three grandchildren, Ben Kennedy, and his wife Julie; Molly Kennedy; and Mariana Mathewson; and by three great-grandchildren, Sam, Evelyn, and Miles Kennedy. The family is especially grateful to the staff of Woodside Place for their faithful and loving care of Pat for almost five years. Edder Funeral Home of Girard was entrusted with Pat’s remains, which will be cremated.  This spring, a family memorial service in Corry will commemorate the interment of her ashes alongside John’s in Pine Grove Cemetery. 
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