Joseph Edward Kennedy

Joe Kennedy took off on his final flight on March 7, 2 p.m. sharp—no ticket, no luggage, just a one-way pass straight into the great, blue beyond. This trip was unlike any he’d taken before, but if there’s one thing we know, it’s that he landed in a place free of pain, greeted by joy unimaginable.

Joe was born January 24, 1952, and raised in Houston; Joe grew up on Schiller Road in the Alief area, the son of Marceil and Joseph Kennedy. His childhood, stitched together with humble means and big dreams, was spent alongside his two brothers—Mark and Michael, who left too soon. As a boy, Joe was raised in the Catholic faith, attending Mass and learning the rhythms of prayer and devotion. While life would take him on journeys far from home, the foundation of faith set in his childhood never left him.

Alief High is where Joe met his first love, Jenny Lynn Dulaney. They married young—Joe studying business management, Jenny training in dental hygiene—before launching into a life that, much like Joe, refused to sit still. The oil industry swept them from Houston to Chicago, where Joe became a father to two sons, Jay and Jason, before the family hopscotched through Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, and back to Texas. But even Texas couldn't hold him. In 1986, with the adventure itch in full force, he packed his bags for the Netherlands, then Trinidad and Tobago, forging friendships that stretched across oceans.

But Joe wasn’t done moving. After a quick stop back in Texas, he leapt at the chance to take his talents to Moscow in 1993, where he spent four years navigating a world reborn. Back home, he chased a lifelong passion for aviation, earning his pilot’s license—because, for Joe, staying grounded was never an option.

Then came Angola, Joe worked and loved southern Africa. Then, onto another adventure, the Sakhalin Island (Ю́жно-Сахали́нск), Russia. And then, fate. There, on that far-flung Russian island, he met the second love of his life, Irina Kim. Together, they moved back to Texas and eventually built a home in Hockley, Texas, where Joe embraced Irina’s daughter, Masha, as his own. And soon, he’d add one more beautiful soul to his legacy: his youngest daughter, Anna.

Retirement didn’t slow him down. Joe turned entrepreneur, dabbling in fitness and lending, ever restless for the next great endeavor. But something else grew during these years—his faith. The boy who once sat in Catholic pews rediscovered a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus. Retirement gave him space to reflect, to walk in step with Christ, and to embrace the love and grace that had been guiding him all along.

One of his final stops was New York City, where Irina took up work at NewYork-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center while Joe played his favorite roles—husband, father, and dreamer.

And then cancer came knocking. True to form, Joe fought like hell. New York’s best doctors gave him every shot, but in the end, he took one last journey—this time, back to Texas, just a few miles from where his story first began at St. Edward’s in Austin. And on March 7, at the age of 73 and a life lived at full throttle, he went to be with Jesus in peace. Joe is survived by his big, beautiful family—four children, two daughters-in-law, seven nieces and nephews, ten grandchildren (who affectionately call him Pappa K), and a constellation of friends from every corner of the world.

His legacy? Motion. Passion. Love. Faith. And the knowledge that, wherever he is, he’s probably already planning his next great adventure.

Memorial will be held on Saturday, March 22nd, at 2pm at the Church at Cross Lake in Cypress, Texas.