Clara (Watkins) Kennedy |
| Posted 2009-11-29 by Sharla |
| Arizona Silver Belt, Globe, Arizona Posted: Wednesday, Nov 25th, 2009 Mrs. Clara Watkins Kennedy, 97, formerly of Globe, passed away peacefully on Nov. 14, 2009 at Heartland Health Care Center in Bedford, Texas. Mrs. Kennedy was born on Aug. 19, 1912, in Deming, N.M., the daughter of Reed and Polly Watkins, pioneer New Mexico ranchers. Following the deaths of both parents in 1922, Clara and her five siblings were lovingly raised by her mother’s family in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Mrs. Kennedy, a registered nurse, graduated from Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing in Detroit, Mich. in 1933 and had the distinction of receiving her diploma from Mr. Henry Ford. Hers was the last class to have that honor. Following graduation, she returned to her beloved Southwest, where she practiced nursing at Fort Bliss Army Hospital in El Paso, Texas. On Dec. 11, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio, she married Paul P. Kennedy, the son of family friends. Mr. Kennedy preceded her in death in 1986. The couple moved to Phoenix in the late 1930s, and relocated to Flagstaff for a short time before settling in Globe, where they lived until Mr. Kennedy’s death. Mrs. Kennedy continued to reside in Globe until 2001, when she moved to be closer to family. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were actively involved in the community, the Republican Party and St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Mrs. Kennedy served on the Altar Guild. Mrs. Kennedy is survived by two daughters, Polly Aiello of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Louise K. Anthony and her husband, Mark, of Westerly, R.I; a son, Keith W. Kennedy and his wife, Caren, of Dallas, Texas; 11 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her immediate family, her extended family includes Per-Erik (Nilsson) Molander and his wife, Britt, of Malmo, Sweden. Per resided with the Kennedy’s in 1961-62 as an American Field Service student and frequently visited his American parents throughout their lifetime. Mrs. Kennedy especially asked to be remembered as “a child of almost-frontier days in southwestern New Mexico, who loved those years spent in nursing, but most of all, loved being a wife and mother and ever striving to keep in touch with my children, grandchildren and their little ones.” Cremation will take place in Dallas, Texas, to be followed by a memorial service in Globe at a later date. The family requests, in honor of Mrs. Kennedy, memorial donations are made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1051, Globe, AZ, 85502. |
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