Michael Joseph Kennedy

Michael Joseph Kennedy was born on October 16, 1944, in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the youngest of four children born to parents Michael and Bridget Kennedy. Mike passed peacefully on January 1, 2023, surrounded by his loving children, Keith Kennedy (Jenny) of Sacramento, California; Victoria Thomas (Sean) of Folsom, California; and Gemma Plocki (Michael) of Larkspur, California. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 43 years, Ann Kennedy (nee Conway), his sister Eileen Leahy, and his brother Neil Kennedy. In addition to his three children, Mike is survived by six adoring grandchildren (Emma Thomas, Caroline Plocki, Gavin Thomas, Grace Kennedy, David Plocki, and Jack Kennedy), as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws in Ireland.  He is also survived by his brother Frank Kennedy of Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland.

Mike was a true renaissance man and entrepreneur, learning his many talents and skills while growing up in Ireland and working with his father, Michael, a machinist at the local creamery.  Mike left Thurles at age 18 to work for St. Michael’s Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, which is where he met a beautiful nurse named Ann Conway, whom he married in 1969 at the Church of St. Patrick, in Monkstown, County Dublin.  It was in Dun Laoghaire where he and Ann raised their three children and made numerous lifelong friends.  Guided by his entrepreneurial spirit, Mike and Ann packed up the Kennedy family and moved to California, settling in Elk Grove in 1989.  A few years later, he and Ann moved to Danville where Mike started and ran several successful commercial freight businesses. 

Mike was an avid fisherman and sailor, enjoying many summer days on Dublin Bay and San Francisco Bay with family and friends. Mike was also an active parishioner at St. Isidore’s Church in Danville and rose to the rank of Fourth Degree Knight with the local Knights of Columbus.  Above all, Mike loved his three children, their spouses, and his six wonderful grandchildren.  He brought warmth to those around him with his welcoming, embracing smile, his sense of fun, and his infectious laughter.

A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 14, 2023, at Holy Spirit Church, located at 3159 Land Park Drive in Sacramento, California, with a reception to follow.  All are welcome to attend and celebrate the life of this wonderful and loving husband, dad, and granddad.

For those unable to attend, the mass will be livestreamed through the following link: https://youtube.com/@holyspiritparish3889.  (Or, go to YouTube -www.youtube.com and enter “Holy Spirit Parish-Sacramento, California.”)