Marie J. Kennedy

Marie J. Kennedy, 98, passed away Oct. 23, 2007. She was a resident of Olympia since 2003.

Marie was born in the rural south in Collins, Miss., Oct. 17, 1909. She was one of seven children and the only one to attend college. She graduated from the Mississippi State College for Women in 1931 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She taught school for several years during the depression and recalls being paid in "script" since the state had no money at that time.

She married Heber Kennedy Sr. and they both taught in the school system for several more years. He later went to work for the Mississippi State Tax Commission and after his retirement, they opened a dry cleaners just south of Jackson. Mr. Kennedy preceded her in death in 1955.

While continuing to operate the dry cleaners, Marie took an additional job as the assistant director with the Capitol Area Regional Library in Raymond, Miss. In 1961, she took an educational leave of absence and obtained her master's in Library Science from LSU in 1962. She sold the dry cleaners due to a highway expansion and in 1962 took a job as the head librarian with the regional library system in North Central Washington in Moses Lake. Her first mission was to help spearhead the effort to build the current city library, which has a plaque in her honor. She retired Nov. 1, 1974, continuing to live in Moses Lake until 2003.

After retirement Marie continued to travel regularly and maintained contact with her friends and colleagues back in Mississippi and those she met on her travels. Activities such as golf kept her busy and she also was on a bowling league until the age of 82. Playing bridge and gin rummy with her friends was another enjoyment. The stakes were pennies, which she made sure were paid up accurately at the end of the game. She was a voracious reader and traded books with family and friends when she found one she particularly enjoyed. Marie will undoubtedly be remembered for her wonderful ability to tell a good joke. She entertained the passengers on many bus trips to the casinos in Reno or Elkhorn, taking the bus driver's microphone and regaling them with her stories and jokes.

Marie is survived by her son Heber Kennedy Jr. and her daughter-in-law, Vaira Kennedy, both of Olympia; two grandsons, Bryce Kennedy and Heber Kennedy III of Seattle.

A celebration of life will occur in Moses Lake on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. in the O'Sullivan Room of the Moses Lake Convention Center, Suite C, located at 1475 Nelson Road N.E. (exit 179).

No flowers please, but contributions to the Moses Lake Library in her name would be appreciated.