Nannie Lou Kennedy, 92, of Vero Beach, passed away on June 15, 2016, at Consulate Health Care after a lengthy illness.
She is survived by her children Sue (Ed) Holbrook and Ken (Joy) Kennedy; grandchildren Lyn (David) Foster, Becky (Victor) Loar, Sara Beth (Dillon) Roberts, TP (Regina) Kennedy and Ashley Kennedy; great-grandchildren Andrew Foster, Jack Foster, Charlotte Loar, Nathaniel Loar, Lirim Turkaj, Ellis Roberts, Jasmine Kennedy, Thomas Kennedy and Merrit Kennedy; nieces Linda Bartlett, Janine Duncan, Laurie Cassidy, Sharon Weekes; and nephews Leslie Phillips and Randy McCoy.
She was preceded in death by her husband Purnell Kennedy; her parents Charlie and Jessie Reed; her brother (John) and Eleanor Reed; and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tom and Clyde Kennedy.
Kennedy will be remembered by many as part of the Kennedy team, owners of the Kennedy Groves gift fruit retail store located on South US 1 for more than 50 years.
Known in her later years as simply Nannie, she was born in the tiny hamlet of Garfield, Ga., March 1, 1924, to Charlie Clifford and Jessie Brinson Reed. Her family moved to Vero Beach in early 1925, where her father found work clearing the roadway for Beachland Blvd. from the Indian River to the ocean. The family lived in the neighborhood surrounding Tenth Avenue where she and her brother, John, forged lifelong friendships with their neighbors, some of Vero’s oldest families.
When their father took a job at Indian River Producers Association, a packing house next to the railroad track, their home became a garage apartment next to the packing house and their world shifted to the neighborhood of 19th Street area.
Because they had no car, they walked all over downtown Vero Beach and attended the elementary and high school just a few blocks away.
Kennedy loved Vero Beach and happily shared her memories of those early days.
She and her friend, Lorene White, often rode their bicycles to the beach (across the rickety wooden bridge!) and took their turns in the watchtowers in the early days of World War II. They were part of a community group that identified the planes flying along the coast.
She was a graduate of Vero Beach High School, Class of 1942. By the summer following graduation, a local soldier had caught her eye. She and Purnell Kennedy were married Oct. 13, 1942. They spent the war years in Big Spring, Texas, where Purnell was stationed. Their daughter, Sue, was born there.
Once the war was behind them, the Kennedy’s along with Purnell’s brother, Tom, and his wife, Clyde, formed Kennedy Groves. Their first place of business was a palmetto hut on North US 1 which was owned by their uncle Frank Ayers. By 1949, they opened a building of their own on South US 1. In 1951, son Ken was born to the family.
Kennedy was a strong-willed woman of great stamina. Like everyone else in the Kennedy Team, she worked endless hours in the family business. She enjoyed meeting the customers and many of them became her friends. Her greatest joy was her family. The favorite memory of her grandchildren is the home she created where they could swim and play dress-up to their heart’s content. Lunch on the patio in a wet swimsuit was her idea of the good life.
She and Purnell reveled in their day trips, often gathering up their grandchildren for a day at Disney World or Weeki Wachee Springs. She was never happier than when she was rocking one of her grandbabies.
Visitation with family will take place 10 to 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 5, 2016 in Wesley Hall of First United Methodist Church, 1750 – 20th Street, Vero Beach.
A service will begin in the church sanctuary at 11 a.m. with Rev. Becky Oliver officiating followed by a Graveside Service at Winter Beach Cemetery.
The family requests memorial donations to be made to First United Methodist Church Memorials Fund, 1710-20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or to the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, 51 Children’s Way, Enterprise, FL 32725 in memory of Nannie Lou Kennedy.
We would like to give special thanks to the caring staff at Consulate Health Care of Vero Beach-especially the aides on Friar Wing- for their years of diligent attention to Nannie’s needs.
Arrangements are under the direction of Strunk Funeral Home, Vero Beach. A guest book is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
