The History of Mississauga’s Kennedy Family – Part 3
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Many individuals have left their marks in the annals of Mississauga’s ever-evolving story, but few families have served their community with such passion and dedication, and without fanfare, as have the extended Kennedy family. With a grass-roots approach and a strong moral standard, the Kennedy family, even in their quiet way, have helped to shape the City that we call home today through successive generations.
We continue our look at the Kennedy family with a brief look at the “Kennedy Kids” of Evelyn and Jack Kennedy.
As referenced earlier in the series, Evelyn and Jack Kennedy had seven sons and three daughters: Dorothy Maude (1913-1928), John Gordon “Gord” (1914-1979), Robert Douglas “Doug” (1916-2003), Bessie Evelyn (1917-1918), Arthur Palmer “Art” (1919-2022), Muriel Evelyn (1920-1960), Thomas Edmund “Ted” (1922-2003), Richard Melville “Dick” (1924), Harold Elgie “Hal” (1926-2009) and Donald Ellis “Don” (1929-2014). Following in the footsteps of their father and mother, and their Uncle, the children took an active interest in their communities.
In 1931, when their father died unexpectedly, Evelyn was left to raise eight young children. Two children, Dorothy and Muriel, were killed is separate lightning strikes (in 1928 and 1960 respectively), while a third daughter, Bessie, died at age one in 1918. This left Evelyn, in the midst of the Great Depression, with a farmhouse full of seven young, rambunctious boys and one girl, and with little means of support. We explored the story of the “Kennedy Kids” radio show in the previous article.
We shared some of Evelyn Kennedy’s story in a previous article in this series.
Five of Evelyn’s sons would go on to serve during the Second World War, likely inspired by the legacy of military service by their uncle, T.L. Kennedy, and their late father. Sapper Gord Kennedy enlisted in 1942 and served overseas; Doug Kennedy served as a captain in the Canada and Northwest Pacific Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps; Pilot Officer Art Kennedy was a mechanical engineer by trade and was stationed in Dauphin, Manitoba with the RCAF; Ted Kennedy served with RCAF as a Leading Aircraftman (maintenance engineer) in New Brunswick; and Dick Kennedy, only aged 19, also enlisted and was stationed at Montreal. The youngest brothers, Harold and Don, were still underage. All the brothers returned home to Dixie after the war.
Once back at home, the Kennedy boys began to carve their own career and life paths. Gord married Nora Baart in 1946, and they would settle on their own farm in Caledon where they raised three children. Tom Kennedy and his wife, Thora Frances Lenton, made their home near Ottawa, and Dick Kenendy and his wife Joan Penelope Schofield lived in Peterborough, where they raised four children.
The next part will explore the paths followed by Doug, Art, Hal and Don.
