Michael Gerard Kennedy

Michael Gerard Kennedy was a kind and generous man with an adventurous spirit.  He made his final journey on June 3rd, 2023.  A celebration of Michael’s life will be held on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 from 5-8 p.m., at the Mankato Mortuary on Riverfront Drive. 

Michael was born October 9, 1958 to Richard and Marjorie (Downing) Kennedy in Blue Earth, Minnesota.  After a few years in Blue Earth, they moved to Mankato where he graduated from Wilson High in 1977.  There he made lifelong friends, “the brotherhood” as he called them, was a football captain and all-state pole vaulter.  He continued pole vaulting at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he graduated with a B.S. in Political Science.  During his time in Colorado, he worked as a lifeguard and at several ski resorts, and met another dear friend, Kristine.  Michael’s life was always exciting.  He was hardworking, reliable, and loyal.  He was a political consultant, worked on crab and herring boats, laid glass with his friend John in the California Building, worked for Najwa’s Catering, and spent 25 seasons with Alaska General Seafoods. Michael loved art, reading, especially the newspaper, listening to Public Radio, but most of all, he loved Christmas. He also loved to travel, from the North Shore of Minnesota to the far reaches of Southeast Asia. He always saw the beauty in every small detail and never took for granted any of the people he has met or places that he had been.  He has touched many lives both at home and afar.  He loved his family and thought of his nieces and nephews as his own.  He always had a way of making you feel better, and never failed to lend a helping hand.

Michael will be deeply missed by Angie and Jessica Larsen; brothers, Patrick (Linda) Kennedy, Danny (Penny) Kennedy, Kevin (Melissa) Kennedy, Martin (Jill) Kennedy; nieces and nephews, Kelly (Tyler), Jesse, April, Cameron (Nichole), Caitlin (Calvin), Kelsey (Anthony), Dirk, Jessica, Genevive (Jon), and Jared; his fur babies, Cocoa, Snickerdoodle, Cream Puff, and Gracie.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents; parents; uncles, and brother, Shawn.

A special thank you to our neighbor, Denise and the entire Hospice team for all their hard work and care.  Thank you to all his family and friends who came to sit with him and show him how much he was loved him to the very end.  He was able to leave with grace and dignity in his home, and for that I am truly grateful.