Obituary of Eileen Kennedy

Eileen J. Kennedy, 93, of Edison, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick on Friday, September 25, 2015. Born on April 3, 1922, Eileen grew up as the youngest of three sisters on Powers Street in New Brunswick. She graduated from St. Peter's High School in 1940 and, following her 50th reunion, met monthly with a group of her classmates. She married James Kennedy in 1943 and lived in New Brunswick before moving in 1957 to Edison. Recently, she lived with her daughter in Milltown. Eileen was a light in the lives of all who knew her, with a quick wit, a gentle wisdom, and a relentlessly positive outlook that she maintained through the final days of her life. She was an active member of her community and her church, volunteering for the PTA and teaching CCD at St. Paul's in Highland Park for nearly two decades, while serving as a member of the Catholic Daughters and the Rosary Society, for which she was president. Eileen was deeply connected to her Irish heritage, visiting the Emerald Isle four times throughout her life. She enjoyed ceramics, bowling (which she pursued into her 80s), and especially going to the Jersey shore, first at Camp Osborne and, more recently, Midway Beach. She valued family above all else, and was as selflessly devoted to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as she was to her daughter and sons. Mrs. Kennedy was predeceased by her parents, Charles Conover and Bridget Conover nee Lynch, her husband of 44 years, James Kennedy, her sisters, Kay Braido and Evelyn Milazzo, and her son-in-law, Jack Sulzinsky. She is survived by her three children, daughter JoAnn Sulzinsky, son Jim Kennedy and his wife Suzanne Fagan, and son Bob Kennedy and his wife Donna, along with five grandchildren, Jack Sulzinsky and his wife Karen, Amy Forsell and her husband Rob, Dan Sulzinsky and his wife Julie, Kevin Kennedy, and Shannon Kennedy, as well as six great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Samantha, Sam, Ali, Jonah, and Luke. For the last few years, Eileen had been attending the adult day program at Parker in Highland Park where she had made many new friends among the residents and staff. True to her generous nature, Eileen chose to donate her body to medical research at Rutgers University. Eileen's family will be celebrating her full and remarkable life with a memorial service at noon on Saturday, November 14th at Sacred Heart Church in New Brunswick. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Eileen's memory to Sacred Heart Church, 56 Throop Ave, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901.