Denise E. Kennedy

Sunrise: April 21, 1944 Sunset: December 27, 2017 Mrs. Kennedy passed away at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center on December 27, 2017. Denise Elizabeth Robinson was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 21, 1944 to the late Mary Robinson and Richard Robinson. She became Denise Kennedy when she married “her love” Richard Kennedy on January 22, 1966. Denise graduated from Eli Whitney High School where she was a cheerleader. She would often tell the stories of cheering for a basketball team that always lost their games and wondered if it was the team’s ball playing or their cheerleading. Denise worked at Rite-Way Cleaners for many years before she became ill in the early 1980’s. She enjoyed listening to music, especially old-school R&B from the 50’s to the 70’s, where she often referred to it as “real music” and “they don’t make music like that anymore.” On more than one occasion she told her daughter, “if I hadn’t married your father, Marvin Gaye was sure to be your father.” She took great pride in caring for her plants and was an avid fan of the New York Giants. And not a day went by without her watching her favorite soap, The Young and The Restless. She struggled for many years with more than one devastating illness. Yet through it all, her love for her family remained her focus. This perseverance through adversity is a powerful lesson for us, and I believe it is her legacy. Don’t let adversities or setbacks or any of the distractions of the world keep you from this most important aspect of life: family. Denise is preceded in death by her husband Richard Kennedy and brother Curtis “Butch” Chalk. She leaves to cherish her memory her daughter, Tonia Iesha Kennedy, grand-daughter Chanequah Denise Kennedy, grand-son, Daquann Al-Richard Bynum, great grand-son Jaiden Randy-Darnell Turner and son-in-law, Claxton Larry Atkinson and a host of relatives and friends. While we know that she is at peace and that her struggles are at an end, there is pain and sadness because it’s hard to say good-bye. May she rest in peace. The 23rd Psalm The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Denise E. Kennedy

April 21, 1944 - December 27, 2017