MOUNT VISION – Paul Aloysius Kennedy, Sr., 91, of Mount Vision, passed away peacefully Wednesday evening, February 12, 2025, at his home on Pleasant Valley Road, surrounded by his family.
Paul was born April 23, 1933, in Glen Cove Hospital on Long Island, New York, one of four children of Andrew Raymond Kennedy and Hannah Regina née Melia Kennedy.
He graduated from Westbury H.S., Class of 1951, and Hofstra College. He attended Harvard Law School for one year before leaving to pursue a career in business. He served in the United States Army and was Honorably Discharged in 1963. He continued to serve in the U. S. Army Reserve until the early 1970s.
On August 25, 1962, Paul married Margaret Mary Bender in Malvern, Pennsylvania. They first settled on a farm in Roxbury, NY and then moved to Mount Vision where they raised their family of 12 children.
A trained horticulturist, Paul was President of Andrew R. Kennedy, Inc., a business founded by his father, selling seeds, bulbs and plants. He travelled extensively up and down the eastern seaboard in a career that spanned sixty-seven years. He successfully grew and installed exhibits at The New York Flower Show and served as President of the New York Florists’ Club in 1985 & 1986. He continued to grow and sell cut flowers and plants and provide leadership to the local farmers’ market in Oneonta and as a foundational vendor in the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market.
A life long follower of current events and a student of world, United States and Church history, Paul worked in the organization of The New York State Conservative Party in 1962 and later served as Acting Chair for Otsego County for many years.
Paul was a gifted gardener and a lover of nature, horses and horseback riding.
A devout, life long communicant, most recently of St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, he and his wife, Margaret instilled the faith in their children through a life of witness to the Eternal Truth.
Paul is survived by his wife of 62 years, Margaret M. Kennedy of Mount Vision, and their 12 children, Paul A. Kennedy, Jr. and wife Carol of Hartwick, Andrew R. Kennedy and wife, Kristie of Carthage, Margaret Mary Kennedy of Mount Vision, Elizabeth A. Hamman and husband Michael of Phoenix, Arizona, John P. Kennedy and wife Christy of Oneonta, Patricia A. Kennedy of New York City, Owen P. Kennedy and wife Mary Kay of Mount Vision, James G. Kennedy and wife Ann of St. Charles, Illinois, Sister John Catherine (Susan) Kennedy, O.P. (Dominican Order) of Nashville, Tennessee, Kathleen A. Biles and husband Wesley of Phoenix, Arizona, Joseph P. Kennedy and wife Jessica of Schenectady, and Anne M. Sullivan and husband Ryan of Cincinnati, Ohio; 41 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Beginning at 12 Noon Wednesday, February 19, 2025, Paul will lie in repose at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown where family and friends may call to pay their respects. At 1 p.m. a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church with the Very Rev. Michael G. Cambi, pastor, officiating. A reception will follow in St. Mary’s Parish Hall.
The Service of Committal and Burial will be later this spring in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Index.
Expressions of sympathy in the form of memorial donations may be made to: Helios Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820, (HeliosCare.org)
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.
