Joseph Davis Kennedy

Joseph Davis Kennedy, 85, gently passed from this earth on April 6, 2025. He spent his final days surrounded by loving family and friends who visited from far and wide to show their love and appreciation for a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Irene, his children Jill (James), John (Elizabeth), Mark (Anne), his grandchildren Ian (Rachel), Grace (Michael), Sylvie, and Evan, and many nephews and nieces.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa on April 15, 1940, Joseph graduated from the University of Iowa and was a member of ROTC before joining the United States Air Force as a navigator, attaining the rank of Captain. He flew on B-52s as part of the Strategic Air Command and C-141s for military transport during the Vietnam War. After he concluded his active-duty service, he worked at and led Chambers of Commerce in Malden and Lowell, Massachusetts and Steubenville and Newark, Ohio, and built housing as part of Mitchell Systems, before working at Denison University organizing the America Reads program.
Joseph's life was one of service to his family and community. Through his life and work, he organized myriad and diverse projects. He was a member of the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs and a devout Catholic. In Steubenville, he led the Save Our Steel campaign, attracting visits by President Carter and then-candidate Ronald Reagan in support of the steel industry. He participated in the efforts to fund and build the new Veteran's Memorial Bridge, and guided filmmakers searching for locations in the area for the movie the Deer Hunter. Working with parents, he founded the Kiwanis Youth Soccer League in 1978, introducing the sport to the area.
In Newark, he worked to found the Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad, the Historic Hudson Avenue Association, the Par Excellence Learning Center and the Together We Grow Community Gardens. He was a Big Brother to two wonderful Little Brothers, was a volunteer for the American Pride Veterans Committee for Hospice, served as the President of the Sharon Glyn condominium association, and ran political campaigns for his wife Irene and for other friends.
Family and friends remember his many hobbies and passions over his lifetime. He rode motorcycles from early in his life, and spent many happy days riding with his Fossils group around central Ohio. He was a thespian, a photographer, and a devoted researcher into the secret ice cream shops of Ohio. He traveled extensively through his work and with his family, visiting all fifty states and many countries.
He was a role model to his family for his ability to learn, grow, and change over a lifetime. He will be remembered and missed. His family thanks his caregivers for the kindness and patience over the past year. While he was not always an easy patient by his own admission, we appreciate the care and professionalism always provided to him.
Friends and family may call at the Reed-Egan Funeral Home, 141 Green Wave Drive, Newark, 4-6 P.M., Tuesday, April 8, 2025, with a Vigil Service held at 5:45 P.M.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, 10 A.M., Wednesday, April 9, 2025, with Msgr. Paul Enke as celebrant. Military honors will be provided by the Licking County Veterans Alliance.
Inurnment in Cedar Hill Cemetery will be held at 2 P.M., Friday, April 11, 2025.
The family requests memorials in Joseph's name be made to Hospice of Central Ohio or Big Brother/ Big Sisters.
To share your memory of Joseph or leave a condolence for the family, please visit www.reedegan.com