Mary Jane Kennedy

Mary was born in Boston and raised in Winthrop. In 1976, she escaped the frigid Massachusetts winters and eloped to Florida with her soon-to-be husband, Lawrence Kennedy. Together, they chased the sun and eventually moved to Monterey, California where she gave birth to her favorite and only child, Laurel Kennedy, in 1980.

Ms. Kennedy embodied the spirit of a true California Girl in the 1980s: she loved spending time at the beach with her young daughter while listening to smooth jazz or R&B on the portable radio and drinking Tab soda. After more than a decade on the West Coast, Mary and Lawrence relocated back to their New England roots. They moved to Monument Beach in 1992 and were happy to once again be among fellow Boston sports fans. After her husband’s death in 1993, Mary worked as a nurse for the VNA and later as an intake counselor at Gosnold.

Mary was a lifelong, loyal supporter of the Red Sox: she could often be heard loudly cheering for Big Papi and jumping excitedly out of her seat to root for the home team. Ms. Kennedy delighted in shopping at TJ Maxx for the best bargains and loved being treated to lobster rolls from the Lobster Trap. On most mornings, she could be found relaxing with her thirty-pound cat, the late Buster Brown while listening to the cardinals sing outside her window. Mary was a great admirer of Barack Obama and will miss out on the future humanitarian accomplishments of the Trump administration.

Mary is survived by her daughter Laurel Kennedy of San Diego, California; her devoted brother, Greg; her loving sister-in-law, Linda Dunphy of Monument Beach; her brother-in-law, John Dunphy; her brother, Fidelis Jr.; and several nieces and nephews. Mary was the sister of the late Judy O’Day of Londonderry, New Hampshire; the late Margaret Hernandez of Phoenix, Arizona; and the late Peter Grandfield of Phoenix, Arizona. She was the daughter of the late Ethel Grandfield (Fournier) and the late Fidelis Grandfield Sr.

Visiting hours will be from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, March 27 at Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home, 40 MacArthur Blvd (Route 28) in Bourne. A funeral mass to celebrate Mary’s life will take place at 10:00am on Tuesday, March 28 at St. John the Evangelist Church, 841 Shore Road,

Pocasset. Burial will follow at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

Memorial donations may be made in Mary’s honor to Hospice Services of Massachusetts, 2527 Cranberry Highway Ste. D, Wareham, MA 02571

.