Joseph Basil ‘Joe’ Kennedy
1931-2020
KENNEDY, Joseph Basil « Joe » –
Age 88, of Halifax, passed away on Saturday, June 27,
2020 in the QE II Health Sciences Centre. Born in Guysborough, he was
the son of the late Arthur and Mary (Shea) Kennedy.
Joe was employed with the Credit Union Central of Nova
Scotia, retiring in 1991 after 27 years of service. Upon retirement,
he then served multiple terms as a Director of the Credit Union
Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Sports were a large part of Joe’s life. He could
recount, with great detail, many of the softball, baseball and hockey
games he played in, or witnessed, growing up. He loved to talk of the
many athletes and games that he followed, from the 1940’s to
present, especially the local players, who he was always so proud of.
He was an avid supporter of softball in N.S., taking pride in
traveling with the Guysborough Wonder Store Midgets to Nationals in
Napanee, Ontario in 1982. He was a huge fan of local hockey, from the
Vees, to the Mooseheads and all in between. Beyond his family, harness
racing would be his greatest passion. Starting with his father and
brothers racing horses on the ice in Guysborough and Antigonish and
the small tracks in Port Hood and Inverness, to eventually owning
horses that raced at tracks all over the Maritimes. He was a long time
industry leader and volunteer, a member of Standardbred Canada, and
served as President of the Harness Horse Owners Association of
Halifax, President of the Atlantic Standardbred Breeders Association,
Director of the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Commission and
various industry committees. His greatest moment in harness racing
would be breeding and co-owning Maritime Champion colt Firms Phantom,
who tied the world record for consecutive wins. While Joe enjoyed each
of those wins immensely, he cherished the people that followed them
even more. While there were many horses over his lifetime, he had a
special place in his heart for his « little mare » Firm
Footing, who provided him so many proud moments.
He was a long-time member of St. Rose of Lima Church, Fall
River and current member of St. Theresa’s Church,
Halifax.
To Joe it was all about the people, he loved to meet new
people and hear their story, and made so many lifetime friends through
work, church, sports and horse racing.
He is survived by his brother, Arthur, Sydney; sisters,
Audrey (Gordon) Harmer and Rita, and sister-in-law, Frieda, all of
Guysborough; his very close nephew, Art Kennedy, New Glasgow and very
close niece, Alison (Bryden) MacKinnon, Bedford; nephew, Jim and
nieces, Kelly, Christine, Karen and Darlene. He predeceased by
brothers, Arnold « Arnie » and William
« Billy ».
The family would like to extend heartfelt appreciation to all
the close friends who assisted Joe over the past few years as well as
during his recent hospital stays.
A graveside service will be held in the St. Ann’s
Roman Catholic Cemetery, Guysborough on Friday, July 3rd at 1:30 p.m.
with Father Callistus Abazie officiating, arrangement under the
direction of the Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home, Guysborough. A
memorial mass will be held at a later date. Memorial donations can be
made to the Canadian Cancer Society, St. Ann’s Church or a
charity of your choice.
Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at: www.haverstocks.com
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19312020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Joseph Basil ‘Joe’ Kennedy 19312020..
Dennis Haverstocks funeral homes
Décès pour la Ville: Guysborough, Province: Nova Scotia