Terri E. Kennedy

Indianapolis – Terri Elaine Kennedy, age 72, passed away Sunday, June 2, 2024. Terri was born to William and Carla Butcher in Indianapolis, IN on October 7, 1951. Terri graduated from Arlington High School (Class of '69) and married Tom Kennedy on April 15, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is preceded in death by her doting husband, Tom, her father, William, her mother, Carla and sister, S. LeAnn Beller.
Terri is survived by her stepdaughter Katie Allen (Brian), and 3 grandchildren, Bridget, Joe, and Lila, her sister Kristi Hromek (Justin), sisters- and brothers-in-law Joan Bruce (Dennis), John Kennedy (Cris), Andy Kennedy (Dianna), and Marie Chorpenning (Allan). She is further survived by her beloved nieces and nephews: Jennifer, Nik, Grant, Jerod, Matthew, Annie, Patrick, Ted, Libby, Allison, Andy, John, Michael, Jackson, and Jacqueline, as well as many great nieces and nephews.
Terri showed joy in every endeavor in her life, seen most vividly through her cooking for loved ones, her love of traveling to the beach and to Kansas to see her boys, her life-long love of IU basketball, and her greatest passion: her grandchildren.
In high school, Terri enjoyed driving around in the newest Chryslers on the lot, thanks to her dad's position at the plant. She graduated as president of her class at Arlington. Terri began her professional career as a secretary for the IU School of Medicine at the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was 18 years old. Over the next 38 years, Terri excelled in secretarial, managerial, editorial overview and event organization. She was first promoted to the Dean's office followed by serving pharmacology research leaders. She was then "stolen" to be administrative assistant to the Chairman of the Cardiology Division, Dr. Charles Fisch. The rest is history. Terri was a doer. Her skills, attitude and personality shown brightly. Terri interacted with both National and International Heads of State, even Royalty. She took a personal interest in everyone with whom she worked. Work celebrations were many and all were included. She was also a walking "phonebook", having memorized campus wide phone numbers. Terri was a born leader. She mentored new employees with grace and professionalism. Many of her mentees remained friends decades later. Terri was an eager and quick learner. She was also a most loyal person, overseeing the personal care for Dr. Suzanne B. Knoebel from 2007-2014.
A scholarship was established in 2007 to honor Terri for her dedicated service to the Krannert Institute of Cardiology. The Terri Kennedy Award is presented each year to a Krannert employee for the purpose of furthering their education and career.
Terri got things done. A word that people use to describe her again and again is: efficient. Terri loved the time she spent planning the last 11 Class of '69 Arlington High School reunions. While a member at Holy Spirit, she and Tom spent many Sundays counting the collections after masses. Terri gave her time and talent to the bereavement committee at St. Barnabas, contributing to mercy meals as often as she could. As a member of the Lion's Club, she helped put on the annual golf outing at Morningstar Golf Course.
Terri was a consummate host! Known for her welcoming layouts, Terri was the queen of charcuterie. Hosting friends was Terri's love language, always ready to feed anyone that dropped in, opening her fridge to put together a layout for all visitors. Terri always enjoyed watching cooking shows, most recently Brenda Gant, and loved "cooking for an army." It was not simply about the cooking, but she enjoyed the learning, the researching, and the preparations of the food she would prepare. Upon walking into her house, her niece and nephews were always greeted immediately with the "Do you wannas?" Some of Terri's most requested treats were her famous spaghetti sauce, cheese balls, lemon bars, banana bread, deviled eggs, meatloaf, and her mom's beef and noodles.
Terri was a social gal. She enjoyed hosting the annual Indy 500 weekend. Since the inception of the South Vista grandstand, a group of 12 including her great Michigan friends have trekked through snow, rain, 55 to 90 degree temps to hear the "Drivers Start your engines" command. The camaraderie of this group was so special that having fun wasn't an issue, but failing to understand that all those years they were making memories that would last a lifetime. Terri's mother instilled in Terri the love of IU and had a tremendous collection of all things IU basketball. Throughout the seasons, Terri had many traditions, specifically watching, texting, and yelling about the IU basketball games. Being the superfan that she was, friends far and wide could expect texts and phone calls throughout the season about the team's ups and downs, and was never at a loss for words when it came to IU basketball. Terri also embraced Tom's Irish heritage, and adored the many St. Patrick's Day festivities and social gatherings every year with the Kennedy clan, eager to pass on the traditions to her grands.
She was tremendously proud of her grandchildren and her last 12 years of life was filled by doting on her three grands, easily making their days more joyous with the love and attention of their TT. Together, she and the kids loved their weekly trips to Ella's, watching game shows, playing Crazy 8s, and being a spectator at their many events and activities. Most recently, Terri proudly took the kids on a cross-country road trip to Kansas to visit her sister and family, just TT and her kids.
Terri brought joy to every life she touched. She will be dearly missed by so many. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends contributions to the ALS association. Visitation will be held from 1:00-3:00pm on Friday July 12, 2024, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church at 7243 East 10th Street, Indianapolis. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 3:00pm, immediately following visitation. Reverend Michael O'Mara will officiate. A celebration of her life will be held at the Eastside Knights of Columbus at 1040 N. Post Rd Indianapolis IN 46219 immediately after the Mass.