Gerard J. Kennedy

Gerard J. Kennedy, 89, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, in Artista Care at Manchester, Manchester, NJ.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny, NJ. on Friday, August 16 from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral will begin in the funeral home on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. then to St. Thomas the Apostle R.C. Church, Bloomfield, NJ where a 10:00 a.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated. Interment will follow at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Upper Montclair, NJ.

Mr. Kennedy was born in the Whitehaven District of England and immigrated to the United States in 1947 at the age of 12. He lived most of his teen years in Montclair, NJ where he was a proud graduate of Immaculate Conception High School. He then went on to graduate from Seton Hall University where he was able to play his beloved soccer.  He then married and raised his family in Bloomfield, where he was one of the co-founders of the Bloomfield Soccer Booster Club.  He loved to watch his children play sports and rarely missed a game and could always be heard cheering from the stands. His favorite moments were spent with his family and, especially his grandchildren, whom he adored. After retirement, he moved to Lakewood, NJ.

He was a Sales Associate for 40 years working for McGraw Hill, Dunne & Bradstreet and then Penton Publishing before retiring in 1997.

He is survived by his wife, Carol Kennedy (nee Tarrant), three children, William Kennedy and his wife, Lydia Martin, Brian Kennedy and his partner, Kathy Wood and Tracey Hann and her husband, Gregory, seven grandchildren, Nathaniel, Anne and Peter Kennedy, Kelly Rennie, Shannon Rennie Miskura and her husband, Bobby, Kevin Rennie and his wife, Damina and Brian Gerard Rennie.

Jerry was also the stepfather of Mark and Laurie McLaughlin, Richard and Gaye McLaughlin and Sheila Sepanski and step-grandfather of Erin Leeman, Kelsy Stith, and Brian, Sean, Sarah and Matthew McLaughlin.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Carole (nee Milmoe) Kennedy in 1993.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to the Legacy Fund-St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Bloomfield, NJ. http://stachurchbloomfield/legacy

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