Obituary for Michael Joseph "Joe" Kennedy
MICHAEL JOSEPH “JOE” KENNEDY
October 29, 1927 – December 29, 2021
Salisbury Mills, NY
Michael Joseph “Joe” Kennedy, beloved patriarch of the Kennedy family of Salisbury Mills, noted career salesman of building materials, and veteran of World War II and the Korean War, entered into eternal rest just as he had wanted to – at home, quickly and with family members by his side – on Wednesday, December 29, 2021. Joe, a lifelong resident of Salisbury Mills, and devout member of St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and St. Mary’s Church, Washingtonville, was 94 at the time of his death.
A 75-year member of the Salisbury Mills Fire Department, he passed away just two weeks after the department hosted him as guest of honor in commemoration of this achievement. A volunteer firefighter as well as a long-time commissioner, Joe rode as Grand Marshal in the 2011 Orange County fire parade, which was led by Salisbury Mills.
A person of great faith and a definitive family man, he was an exemplary member of The Greatest Generation by giving to his country and local community. Stubborn and proud, cantankerous and kind, the words “legend,” “icon” and “one-of-a-kind” were used to describe Joe upon his passing. Within the family, he was known as “our hero” for the way he soldiered on after the 2013 death of his cherished wife Nancy, through the wrenching loss of his beloved daughter Jo Ann to cancer in 2020, and the passing of his last remaining siblings that same year.
The son of Salisbury Mills blacksmith Joseph Aloysius and homemaker Mary Teresa (Lahey) Kennedy, Joe was born at St. Luke’s Hospital, Newburgh, on October 29, 1927, together with his twin sister, Catherine. A graduate of Washingtonville High School, he joined the U.S. Army at the age of 19. He was stationed at the Leghorn Army Garrison in Livorno, Italy, outside of Pisa, toward the end of World War II and then went on to serve during the Korean War period. Upon his honorable discharge, he became employed in the building supplies business at Wholesale Service on the waterfront in Newburgh. He worked as a sought-after roofing and siding salesman, ultimately for Richards Building Supply Company (formerly Jim Waters Corp.), Middletown branch, until his dying day.
In the mid-1950s, a fellow ballplayer on the neighborhood team introduced Joe to a charming telephone operator named Nancy Henry. They married on November 10, 1956, and started their family, which eventually grew to four girls and a boy. Especially in the beginning of their 57-year marriage, they saved and made sacrifices so that they could build their own home, send the kids to Catholic school and take summer vacations in the family station wagon.
An avid skier through to his 70s, Joe inspired a love of the sport in his children and grandchildren. In the era of long skis and rope tows, he cut a striking figure on the slopes of Highmount and Belleayre, also traveling to ski the mountains of New England and Utah. He counted among his most momentous conquests the Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, NH. Those who take it on must tote their equipment on their backs before descending the 4,000-vertical foot drop. Of course, some of his earliest skiing days were spent as a ski jumper on the lower section of the Schunemunk Mountain Norseman Hill jump, where he earned the indentation almost dead-center in his forehead by leaning too far over the skis and then “taking a spill.”
A golfer and hiker as well, he played for years on many courses locally and throughout the East Coast and was a member of the Storm King Golf Club. A favorite hike was up the Schunemunk Mountain path alongside the trestle, taking it many times with his kids in tow, though Joe’s most well-known excursion was his summiting of New York State’s highest mountain, Mount Marcy, when in his mid-60s.
Joe is survived by his children Sharon and Paul Satkowski of Salisbury Mills; Barbara and Kevin Gref of Jeffersonville; Michael J. Kennedy Jr. of Salisbury Mills; and Lori and David Faurot of New Windsor. He was the loving Pop-Pop of eight: Justin Satkowski and his wife Regina; Jonathan Satkowski and his wife Heather; Emily, Anna and Joseph Gref; Sean and Shannon Curry; and Hailey Faurot. As a great-grandfather he was the adored Great PaPa and Pop-Pop-Pop to Colby, Nolan and Harper. Joe is also survived by his esteemed sisters-in-law, Louise Kennedy of Babylon, NY, and Elizabeth “Beth” Henry of New Windsor, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his wife, Nancy; his daughter, Jo Ann Curry; three sisters, Anne Marie, Margaret and Catherine; and his brothers, William and Martin.
The family would like to thank the specialists Dr. John Portelli and Dr. Paul Pomerantz for their many years of attentive care given to Dad. He really was in fine shape right until the end.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place privately, at the request of the family. Interment will be at the Orange County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 111 Craigville Rd., Goshen, with Military Honors, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, January 7, 2022. Those wishing to observe the services at the cemetery may do so from their cars, from beside their cars or from the perimeter of the gravesite. This is a safety measure requested by the family. A celebration of Joe Kennedy’s life will take place in the spring; contact JoeKennedyCelebration@gmail.com, to be notified.
Memorial donations may be made to the Salisbury Mills Fire Company, PO Box 279, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577, or to New Windsor Emergency Medical Services, PO Box 4334, New Windsor, NY, 12553 (https://newwindsorems.org/donate).
Arrangements have been entrusted to Quigley-Sullivan Funeral Home, Inc.; to send condolences please go to www.Quigleybros.com.
October 29, 1927 – December 29, 2021
Salisbury Mills, NY
Michael Joseph “Joe” Kennedy, beloved patriarch of the Kennedy family of Salisbury Mills, noted career salesman of building materials, and veteran of World War II and the Korean War, entered into eternal rest just as he had wanted to – at home, quickly and with family members by his side – on Wednesday, December 29, 2021. Joe, a lifelong resident of Salisbury Mills, and devout member of St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and St. Mary’s Church, Washingtonville, was 94 at the time of his death.
A 75-year member of the Salisbury Mills Fire Department, he passed away just two weeks after the department hosted him as guest of honor in commemoration of this achievement. A volunteer firefighter as well as a long-time commissioner, Joe rode as Grand Marshal in the 2011 Orange County fire parade, which was led by Salisbury Mills.
A person of great faith and a definitive family man, he was an exemplary member of The Greatest Generation by giving to his country and local community. Stubborn and proud, cantankerous and kind, the words “legend,” “icon” and “one-of-a-kind” were used to describe Joe upon his passing. Within the family, he was known as “our hero” for the way he soldiered on after the 2013 death of his cherished wife Nancy, through the wrenching loss of his beloved daughter Jo Ann to cancer in 2020, and the passing of his last remaining siblings that same year.
The son of Salisbury Mills blacksmith Joseph Aloysius and homemaker Mary Teresa (Lahey) Kennedy, Joe was born at St. Luke’s Hospital, Newburgh, on October 29, 1927, together with his twin sister, Catherine. A graduate of Washingtonville High School, he joined the U.S. Army at the age of 19. He was stationed at the Leghorn Army Garrison in Livorno, Italy, outside of Pisa, toward the end of World War II and then went on to serve during the Korean War period. Upon his honorable discharge, he became employed in the building supplies business at Wholesale Service on the waterfront in Newburgh. He worked as a sought-after roofing and siding salesman, ultimately for Richards Building Supply Company (formerly Jim Waters Corp.), Middletown branch, until his dying day.
In the mid-1950s, a fellow ballplayer on the neighborhood team introduced Joe to a charming telephone operator named Nancy Henry. They married on November 10, 1956, and started their family, which eventually grew to four girls and a boy. Especially in the beginning of their 57-year marriage, they saved and made sacrifices so that they could build their own home, send the kids to Catholic school and take summer vacations in the family station wagon.
An avid skier through to his 70s, Joe inspired a love of the sport in his children and grandchildren. In the era of long skis and rope tows, he cut a striking figure on the slopes of Highmount and Belleayre, also traveling to ski the mountains of New England and Utah. He counted among his most momentous conquests the Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, NH. Those who take it on must tote their equipment on their backs before descending the 4,000-vertical foot drop. Of course, some of his earliest skiing days were spent as a ski jumper on the lower section of the Schunemunk Mountain Norseman Hill jump, where he earned the indentation almost dead-center in his forehead by leaning too far over the skis and then “taking a spill.”
A golfer and hiker as well, he played for years on many courses locally and throughout the East Coast and was a member of the Storm King Golf Club. A favorite hike was up the Schunemunk Mountain path alongside the trestle, taking it many times with his kids in tow, though Joe’s most well-known excursion was his summiting of New York State’s highest mountain, Mount Marcy, when in his mid-60s.
Joe is survived by his children Sharon and Paul Satkowski of Salisbury Mills; Barbara and Kevin Gref of Jeffersonville; Michael J. Kennedy Jr. of Salisbury Mills; and Lori and David Faurot of New Windsor. He was the loving Pop-Pop of eight: Justin Satkowski and his wife Regina; Jonathan Satkowski and his wife Heather; Emily, Anna and Joseph Gref; Sean and Shannon Curry; and Hailey Faurot. As a great-grandfather he was the adored Great PaPa and Pop-Pop-Pop to Colby, Nolan and Harper. Joe is also survived by his esteemed sisters-in-law, Louise Kennedy of Babylon, NY, and Elizabeth “Beth” Henry of New Windsor, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his wife, Nancy; his daughter, Jo Ann Curry; three sisters, Anne Marie, Margaret and Catherine; and his brothers, William and Martin.
The family would like to thank the specialists Dr. John Portelli and Dr. Paul Pomerantz for their many years of attentive care given to Dad. He really was in fine shape right until the end.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place privately, at the request of the family. Interment will be at the Orange County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 111 Craigville Rd., Goshen, with Military Honors, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, January 7, 2022. Those wishing to observe the services at the cemetery may do so from their cars, from beside their cars or from the perimeter of the gravesite. This is a safety measure requested by the family. A celebration of Joe Kennedy’s life will take place in the spring; contact JoeKennedyCelebration@gmail.com, to be notified.
Memorial donations may be made to the Salisbury Mills Fire Company, PO Box 279, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577, or to New Windsor Emergency Medical Services, PO Box 4334, New Windsor, NY, 12553 (https://newwindsorems.org/donate).
Arrangements have been entrusted to Quigley-Sullivan Funeral Home, Inc.; to send condolences please go to www.Quigleybros.com.