William N. Kennedy
William N. Kennedy passed away on December 13, 2014 at the age of 93. This member of the “Greatest Generation” was born August 29, 1921 on a farm in Kentucky to Hazel and Aubrey Kennedy. He left the country life to fulfill his dream of flying airplanes. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Lexington, Kentucky and received his wings in September 1941. His 30 years of military service included tours of duty in Japan, at NORAD headquarters, in Denmark and Germany. During his tenure in the Air Force he flew every plane in the fleet, from the P29 to the F104. During WWII he was one of the elite flight instructors who trained the “90-day Wonders” for service in the war. He later saw action in Korea. Bill married Jean Thompson on September 4, 1942. They had 3 children, a 48 year marriage, and traveled the world with the Air Force.
Bill retired from the Air Force in 1973 as a full Colonel. He and Jean settled in Colorado Springs, where he pursued post-retirement activities as a land developer. Jean passed away in January, 1990. In 1991 he purchased his first computer. After teaching himself word processing, “this man who could fix anything” opened the case to tinker with the electronics, and launched yet another career in computer technology. As a leader of the Colorado Springs Computer Users Group, he taught weekly computer classes for seniors for the next 20 years. He collected and rebuilt hundreds of PCs and donated them to local seniors and schools in Mexico.
In 1993 Bill’s closest friends introduced him to Betty, who became his cherished wife in January of 1994.
Bill is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Kennedy; daughters: Lynn Kennedy Baxter, and Vivian Brailoff; and son, Russell D. Kennedy.
Memorial services with military honors will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Shrine of Remembrance “America the Beautiful” Chapel, 1730 East Fountain Boulevard. A reception will be held following the service at the Olympian Plaza Reception and Event Center, 975 South Union Boulevard. Private inurnment will take place at the Shrine of Remembrance Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Wounded Warriors Project.