Obituary of Thomas Patrick Kennedy

Massachusetts State Senator Thomas Patrick Kennedy died peacefully on June 28th, after a struggle with pneumonia. Family and friends were by his side. He was 63. The cherished husband of Clare Holmgren, Tom was a life-long resident of Brockton, Massachusetts a city he loved deeply and served for the entirety of his adult life. He was a proud graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, Class of 1969. Tom earned undergraduate degrees from Massasoit Community College and Stonehill College, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Following his graduation from Cardinal Spellman, Tom entered the Missionary Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate seminary to begin studies for the Catholic priesthood. In 1970, during his second year, a tragic accident left Tom a quadriplegic. After a long series of hospitalizations and rehabilitation, he returned to the family homestead in Brockton. Although he was unable to continue his path to the priesthood, he found his second calling in public service. Under Mayor David Crosby, he served as the City of Brockton’s Ombudsman from 1974 to 1978. In 1978, he was elected to the Brockton City Council, representing Ward 2. He served as a Congressional Aide to Congressman Brian Donnelly from 1978 to 1983, when he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Tom ably served the 9thPlymouth district as a State Representative until 2008, when he was elected to the State Senate representing the 2nd Plymouth & Bristol district. In the House of Representatives, Tom served as Vice-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Chairman of the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee and was a member of the Committees on Ethics, Government Regulations, Insurance and the Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture. In 1998, he was appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Special House Ad Hoc Committee on Adoption. During his time in the Senate, Tom was tapped to serve as Chairman of two committees, the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and the Joint Committee on Election Laws, and he also served as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He was also Vice-Chairman of Veterans Affairs and was appointed to the Special Senate Committee on Opioid Addiction Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Options. During the four decades he served in the legislature, he was instrumental in the passage of several significant pieces of legislation, but his true passion was the service of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts generally, and his constituents in particular. He was singularly focused on serving the diverse needs of his district and was a tireless advocate for children, the sick, the elderly, and for all those who lacked a voice of their own. He was widely recognized for his good works and accomplishments, but he always felt that his true reward was to see the results of the help he was able to provide. He was named Legislator of the Year by many organizations, including the National Association of Home Health and Hospice Care, the Massachusetts Visiting Nurses Association, and the Massachusetts Home and Health Association. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the New England Board of Higher Education, New England Sinai Hospital, Trinity Catholic Academy, and St. Joseph’s Manor Nursing Home. Tom was kind and witty – he loved a good story and laughed easily and often. He was a faith-filled man and was perpetually guided and nourished by his Catholic beliefs. His faith informed all of his actions, many of which were known only to the recipients of his kindness. One of his proudest moments was having the rare distinction of Honorary Oblate bestowed upon him by the Missionary Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1978. Second only to his faith, Tom’s Irish and Nova Scotian roots were of paramount importance to him. The struggles and values of generations past instilled in him a profound drive to preserve and carry on their memories and places. He devoted countless hours to the restoration and upkeep of several small family cemeteries and chapels. One of which, in Maitland, Nova Scotia, will serve as his final resting place. Tom found solace and comfort in all aspects of Irish culture – ever-present in the music, heritage, and, of course, the color green that surrounded him. Notwithstanding the daily suffering occasioned by the complications of his accident, Tom considered himself to be one of the most fortunate people in the world – due to the love, kindness and care shown to him by those around him. He is survived by his beloved and devoted wife, Clare Holmgren; his siblings, M. Ann Kennedy Thibault and her husband Thomas of Indianapolis, Indiana; Professor Robert A. Kennedy III and sister-in-law Linda of Brockton; and Mary Kennedy Bardsley and her husband R. Michael of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews; grand-nieces and nephews; a large, extraordinarily close cohort of cousins; Nova Scotian relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances; and several loyal and life-long friends, including Kevin Jones, who spent virtually every Sunday morning with Tom for 45 years, and Gerry Cassidy, a trusted and indispensible co-worker of over two decades. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Andrew Kennedy, Jr. and Mary Louise (Cruise) Kennedy, and by his treasured cousin Patricia (Cruise) DiPasqua. Funeral services in Massachusetts from the Russell & Pica Funeral Home, 165 Belmont Street, Brockton on Tuesday, July 7 at 9:30 a.m. thence to St. Edith Stein/St. Edward’s Parish, 71 East Main Street, Brockton where a funeral Mass will be celebrated for the repose of his soul at 11:00 a.m. Viewing hours in the Russell & Pica Funeral Home on Sunday, July 5 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. and Monday, July 6 from 3:00-8:00 p.m. The final celebration of Tom’s life will take place in Nova Scotia under the care and direction of Ettinger Funeral Home, 2812 Highway 2 Shubenacadie, NS on Saturday, July 11th where viewing hours will be from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. A funeral mass will be celebrated for the repose of his soul at 11:00 AM at St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church, 112 Mill Village Road, Shubenacadie, NS, immediately followed by interment in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Maitland, Hants County, NS. A reception will follow. The best way to remember Tom, his good works and his well-lived life would be in a moment of reflection or act of kindness, or by making a donation to an organization of your choice. Tom held a number of organizations close to his heart – The Chapel Hill Restoration Fund (Maitland, Hants County, NS through Rockland Trust, 2036 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339), USA), My Brother’s Keeper in Easton, MA, Brockton Hospital, and local councils on aging. Finally, late last year, Stonehill College created the Tom Kennedy Scholarship Fund in his name.