A Mass of Christian Burial for Father William Kennedy was celebrated Sept. 24 at St. Mary Church in Hyde Park. Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr presided. A retired educator and pastor, Father Kennedy, 73, died Sept. 19.

Father Kennedy was born on July 4, 1940, in Dayton. He did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary in Mt. Washington and studied theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West, then in Norwood.  He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1971, by Archbishop Paul F. Leibold at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Cincinnati.

He received his first assignment in June 1971 as assistant pastor of St. Andrew Parish, Milford, and part-time teacher at St. Gregory Seminary. He served as pro-tem assistant pastor at St. Teresa of Avila Parish, Cincinnati, in 1973, before being appointed in August 1973 to full-time faculty member at Saint Gregory Seminary.

In March 1975, Father Kennedy was appointed administrator of St. Ann Parish, Williamsburg, while continuing as a faculty member at St. Gregory Seminary. In August 1977, he was appointed dean of St. Gregory Seminary. He became pastor of St. Peter Parish, New Richmond, in July 1980, and dean of the St. Martin Deanery in July 1983.

Father Kennedy was appointed pastor of St. Ann Parish, Groesbeck, in February 1987, and reappointed in February 1993. In July 1999, he was appointed pastor of Assumption Parish, Mt. Healthy, where he served until his retirement in 2011. Upon retirement, he resided at St. Mary Parish.

Father Kennedy is survived by his brothers, Henry and Tom. Interment was at St. Mary’s Cemetery at Assumption Parish, Mt. Healthy.