James D. Kennedy

Jim Kennedy passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 18, 2009 at the age of 85. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in early August and had been in hospice care at his home in Littleton, Colorado ever since.

Jim is survived by his wife, Helen, and his five children, Michael, Dan, Susan, April and Becky. He has six grandchildren: Heather Kennedy, Crystal Lonsdale, Eddie Tinkey, Ryan Tinkey, Shaun White and Courtney White Young. Jim also has five great grandchildren: Hailey Tinkey, Reece Tinkey, Kal Lonsdale and Sophie Young. He is survived by his younger brother: Frank Kennedy and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his father: Ray Kennedy, mother: Edna Mae Kennedy Oliver, sister: Mary Dell Simmons, brothers: Fred and Mike Kennedy.

Jim will always be remembered as a kind father, loving husband and true friend to everyone that knew him. His charming smile and wonderful stories will be sadly missed by his family and so many friends.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, October 23rd at 10:30 AM at St. Frances of Cabrini, 6673 W. Chatfield Ave, Littleton, CO 80128. Graveside Service 1:15 PM Ft. Logan National Cemetery Area "C". In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Hospice of St. John or Mother Cabrini Shrine.

Jim was born on January 30, 1924 in Rawlins, Wyoming, but his family moved to Colorado a few months later. He was the third child of five siblings. His earliest childhood memories were when his family lived in Durango in 1928. His older brother Fred, taught him how to swim by throwing him off their raft. His ability to swim would come in handy years later when he became a deep sea diver during WWII. He also remembered how his father loved to fish and hunt. His father's passion for the outdoors was passed on to Jim and he would later pass it on to his son, Dan.

In 1930 the family moved to Denver and a few years later Jim had his tonsils removed but was also told he had rheumatic fever. He was ten years old and recovered from the fever but his heart was permanently damaged. 65 years later in 1995 his heart value would begin leaking and was surgically replaced by a mechanical value.

In 1935 the family moved to Roubaix, South Dakota where his father started a new job as the superintendent of a small gold mine. In 1936 the family moved, to Oak Creek, Colorado where his father became a master mechanic for the Moffet Coal Company. During this time Jim got a job at the local dairy and delivered milk and worked with the cows. That summer he was selected to ride in the town's annual horse race on a prized stallion that was owned by the dairy. By 1938 the family moved back to Denver and Jim would later get a job with the Civilian Conservation Corp, fighting forest fires in the Summer of 1941.
WWII service

1941 Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he turned 18 and moved to Seattle. There he assisted a diver working in the ship yards, helping to repair the Carrier Saratoga and Battleship Nevada that were damaged at Pearl Harbor. In 1942, because he wore glasses, he memorized the eye chart in order to join the Merchant Marines. After six months he transferred into the Navy, but thirty days later he was given another physical, this time failing the vision test (because the chart was different) and was discharged from the Navy.

1942-43 Jim went back to Denver and joined the Army. Because of his diving experience, the Army sent him to Savannah to train as a deep sea diver in a special new unit they were creating for the Army Corp of Engineers.
1944 Jim was shipped to Scotland and prepare for the Allied invasion. He landed on Utah Beach after the initial D-Day invasion and was one of sixteen divers from his unit sent to Cherbourg Harbor along the Normandy coast.
The harbor at Cherbourg was critical to the Allied invasion because it was the only place large transport ships could dock and unload. The Germans finally surrendered Cherbourg on June 26th, but not before destroying much of the harbor and the docks.

The Army Corp of Engineers were brought in to clear the harbor and rebuild the port. In teams of two, the divers worked around the clock, seven days a week, raising sunken ships, clearing concrete debris and rebuilding the docks. After three months at Cherbourg, Jim and the Engineers moved on to Belgium and later Germany with the advancing Allied troops.

1945 After the Germans surrendered in 1945, his unit was flown to the Philippines in preparation of a possible invasion of Japan. After the war ended with Japan, he was discharged from the Army and he returned to Denver. A few months later he re-enlisted in the Air Force and was trained to become an aerial photographer at Buckley Field in Denver.

1946 Jim was flown back to Germany photographing most of Europe from B-17's. The photos were used to document and map post-war Europe. In the summer of 1946 his unit, the 16th photo Squadron was given a secret order to fly to the South Pacific. They arrived in the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the Pacific and their task was to help document the first atomic bomb test. Special cameras were set up on Bikini island, encased in lead lined boxes to protect the film from the radioactive blast.

1947 While flying another photo mission in Europe his plane crash landed. His injured leg forced him to be discharged from the Air Force at the age of 23 and he returned to Colorado. From 1942 to 1947 he had served in the Merchant Marines, the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force.

1949 - Present In 1949 Jim would meet his future wife, Helen on a blind date with help of each of their two sisters. One month later the two were engaged and married two months later. Jim was transferred to Grand Junction as a dispatcher for the State Patrol. In 1950 the couple moved back to Denver and Jim began his career in plumbing and heating, following in his father's footsteps.

In 1951 their first child was born, Michael and over the next six years, Dan, Susan and April would follow. Becky was born four years later in 1961. By 1962 the family moved to a small development called Columbine Hills in rural Littleton. At the time Jim was installing the plumbing in the houses for the area. In 1963 he helped organize and build the first baseball park in area and over forty years later, generations of children have grown up playing little league baseball, football and soccer at the Columbine Hills Park. His two son's Michael and Dan played on the first Little League baseball teams for Columbine Hills.

Jim continued his plumbing work and in 1968 survived a major cave-in accident while working in a trench that was dug for a large swimming pool. He would later start his own business, Kennedy Plumbing and Heating. His son Dan would begin his training in plumbing in 1973 and eventually take over his father's business.

Jim has been active with the Catholic church community for over 32 years, beginning with the Columbine Catholic Church and later St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church. He was also active in the Knights of Columbus and the Church's Senior group. Jim was in charge each year of helping to raise donations with giving away poppies for the VFW on Veterans day.

In May of 2009 Jim attended a reunion of U.S. Army Divers in Williamsburg, Virginia and was honored as the last surviving diver from WWII.