GARTH KENNEDY

1918 - 2018

Nov. 21, 1918 - April 29, 2018 OKLAHOMA CITY Garth Parks KennedyGarth Parks Kennedy passed away on April 29, 2018. He was born to Isabelle Duncan and Glen Parks Kennedy in Greeley, Colorado on November 21, 1918. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years, Dorothy Cornelia Kennedy, and his treasured son, Neal ("Nick") Robert Kennedy. He is survived by his daughter, Lani Kennedy, and her husband, Lewis Kwit, of New York City as well as Nick's life-long partner Melanie Rutherford, Garth's devoted caregiver and friend Mary Frazier, and nieces and nephews. Garth grew up in Hastings, Nebraska, where he attended Hastings College before graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in architectural engineering. He moved to Oklahoma in 1942 with his new wife where he worked first with Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville and then assisted in the founding of Corken Pump Company in Oklahoma City. He retired in 1983 as Vice Chairman of Corken International Corporation and as president of Enterprise Foundry and Southwest Manufacturing Company. He held numerous U.S. and Canadian patents on equipment to handle volatile liquids and gases. During his 60-year career, he served as Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) president, National Society of Engineers national director and Oklahoma Engineering Foundation president, and in 2003 was named an OSPE Fellow, among other positions and honors. He served his community as Cosmopolitan International Downtown Club president, Civic Music Association president, Kirkpatrick Science Center board member and held numerous positions at the First Christian Church of Midwest City. He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church at the time of his passing. Pastor Glenn Dunn will preside at the funeral service in the Chapel at Westminster on Friday, May 4, 2018, at 2:00pm with burial to follow in Arlington Memory Gardens, Midwest City, OK. Memorial contributions may be made to Westminster or the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation, 220 NE 28th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.