Dr. James C Kennedy Jr

Dr. James Clarence Kennedy, Jr., of Worthington, Ohio, died on March 9, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. Jim, aka "Pete," was a loving (and loved) husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Jim was born in Huntington, West Virginia on October 5, 1935, and is survived by his six children: Michael (Antoinette) Kennedy, Erin Kennedy, Maureen (Frank) Perez, Mary Bronwyn (Carmelo) Trujillo, Kate (Matt) Kennedy, and Timothy (Kaitlyn) Kennedy, along with fourteen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

Jim is preceded in death by two wives: Sheila (Haptonstall) Kennedy and Patricia (Hayes) Kennedy; his parents, James Kennedy, Sr., and Gussie (Jolly) Kennedy; his brother Daniel (Linda) Kennedy; and his sister, Judi (Charles) Gumpel.

Jim took pride in his long career as an old-school, heads-down engineer. Having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University, he went on to earn a Master of Science and then Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from The Ohio State University. His life's work included teaching undergrad engineering students at Ohio State, where he was known as a tough taskmaster. He engineered defense systems at North American Aviation and Battelle Memorial Institute, and held national leadership positions on various engineering, defense, and transportation committees. After an industrious career of six decades, he retired from EMC2.

Jim worked on dozens of research programs for the government, leading high-profile projects such as improving the GAU-8 cannon on the A-10 aircraft, the F-16 battery systems, and state-of-the-art methods for modeling and simulating pavement systems and railroad track structures. As a manager in Battelle's National Defense Division, Jim oversaw a group of technical specialists in equipment development and engineering mechanics. He was dedicated to making sure his staff had whatever was needed to get the job done, and was highly respected by his staff and peers.

Jim loved sports and was athletic his entire life and enjoyed basketball, running, and tennis. He described himself as "small but slow," and was extremely competitive. In his later years, he loved playing tennis with Pat on Fripp Island, South Carolina. Jim was also an enthusiastic lover and reader of history. Jim was known to tear through books on World War II history so fast that his family struggled to keep more books coming to him, even at the age of 90.

Throughout his productive and happy life he experienced the joys of his family and friends with exuberance and suffered losses with dignity. He'll be remembered by his family as stubborn, funny, unfiltered, sentimental, brilliant, opinionated, and direct. He was a man of uncompromising integrity.

Visitation for Jim will be held at Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, 515 N. High St., Worthington, Ohio 43085 on Wednesday March 11th from 4pm to 6pm followed by a traditional Catholic rosary recitation. A funeral service will be held at Saint Michael Catholic Church, 5750 N. High St., Worthington, Ohio on Thursday March 12th at 10:30am. Internment on Friday, March 20th at 10:30am at Walnut Grove Cemetery, 5561 Milton Ave., Worthington, Ohio.