Robert Francis Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy, age 77, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on November 22, 2020 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Bob was born in Stamford, CT on January 16th, 1943, the second of three children to the late J. Walter (former Stamford Mayor and Commissioner of the National Basketball Association) and Marion McRedmond Kennedy. Bob began work at The Stamford Advocate in 1964 as a sports reporter. In 1970 he accepted a position as marketing and promotions director for a footwear company in New York and remained in the position until 1975. He helped market such products as NBA footwear and Pony footwear as well as private brand labels such as John Havlicek and Bob Cousy. He also helped develop Pro 77 Hosiery which was utilized by all NBA teams. Bob returned to The Advocate in 1975 as a sports editor and remained in that position until his retirement in 2007. During that period, The Advocate sports staff won numerous individual writing awards as well as several Associated Press Sports Editors awards for best Daily, Sunday and Special sections. Bob received numerous awards and accolades over the years. He was an honoree at the 2007 Old Timers’ Athletic Association. He was inducted into the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) Hall of Fame in 2008. He served as Grand Marshal of the Stamford St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2008. He has been named to the Stamford Youth Basketball Hall of Fame and was selected as Connecticut Pop Warner Man of the Year. In 2019, Bob was named the Bill Gonillo Local Sports Media Award winner and was awarded the Frank J. Robotti Award for Community Service that same year. Bob was involved with the Stamford Exchange Club for many years and the Western Connecticut Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Dinner of Champions. He was also on the board of the Mickey Lione Jr. Fund. Bob was a longtime coach in the Stamford Senior Babe Ruth League where he earned the nickname ‘Skip’. He started off coaching Robustelli Travel in 1966 and managed the Accurate Tool and Fairway Restaurant teams for almost 30 seasons. He was a manager or coach with five Senior Babe Ruth all-star teams which advanced to the World Series in: 1970 (along with Mickey Lione Jr. and Bart Gerardi), 1972 (Lione and Bennett Salvatore), 1990 (Mike Walsh and Tracy Nichols) and 1994 and 1995 Senior BRL 16-year old World Series teams with Vin Cortese and Rich Inzitari. All-star teams he was associated with won eight state championships and five New England titles and advanced to four other New England championship games. Bob also coached for 10 seasons in the Stamford American Little League and won a league title; coached Stamford Youth Soccer, winning one city title; played for the Stamford Nobles team which won titles in the Intercity League and played softball with The Advocate team, which won a league title. Bob is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Bartan, his daughter Kelly Bernot (Mike) of Atlanta, GA; his 3 sons Robert, Jr. (Rebecca) of New York, NY; Paul James (Sandy) of Stamford, CT; and Christopher (Jennifer) of New Canaan, CT along with 10 grandchildren – his pride and joy: Charlotte (22), Annie (21), Peter (18), Virginia (18), Robert (16), P.J, Jr (9), Grace (7), Maeve (5), Griffin (3) and Robert III (3 months), his sister Kathy Kennedy of Orlando, FL, his cousin Rick Petersen of Stamford, CT along with several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by many lifelong friends, especially best friend Gene Rubino of Stamford. He was pre-deceased by his mother Marion McRedmond Kennedy, father J. Walter Kennedy and brother David Kennedy. Because of government restrictions due to Covid, no calling hours will be held, however the family invites you to email them your remembrances of Bob at BobKennedyMemories@gmail.com. A private Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 am on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Basilica of St John the Evangelist, Stamford CT. For those that are able to attend virtually, the mass will be live streamed through the church’s website or by clicking on " Virtual Mass Attendance " Interment will follow at St John Cemetery, Darien, CT. In support of Bob’s dedication to Stamford, the family would like to request that you do something kind in your community in Bob’s honor this holiday season and share those stories with them via the email address above. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to be made in Bob’s name to River House Adult Day Center (https://www.theriverhouse.org/), 125 River Road, Cos Cob, CT 06807 or to Bishop Robert Lombardo, Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, 3808 West Iowa Street, Chicago, IL 60651. Arrangements are under the direction of Thomas M. Gallagher Funeral Home, Stamford (203)-359-9999. To send condolences to the family, please email BobKennedyMemories@gmail.com " Virtual Mass Attendance "