Marc J. Kennedy

Marc J. Kennedy, lived life to the fullest until it was unexpectedly taken from him in Dallas on 2/20/15. He was looking forward to his disco-themed 70th birthday party in California. He is survived by his wife Karen Karatsu Kennedy, twin daughters Shawna and Kayla Kennedy, brother Dr. Barry Kennedy, and stepchildren Grant Gundersen, Bethany Gundersen Lepe, and Alex Gundersen.

He was born in Newburgh, New York to Frances and Warren Kennedy.

A graduate of Syracuse University and the University of Michigan Law School, Marc served as an Oxy attorney for 41 years, and was the only lawyer to work on domestic and international assignments in all three of Oxy’s key business segments. After joining Oxy Crude Sales in New York in 1974, Marc worked for OxyChem for 37 years. Marc served as Vice President and General Counsel of the Interore metals trading business and the Agricultural Products Group and, as Associate General Counsel, managed most of OxyChem’s international legal matters and worked on the key transactions that helped to build OxyChem into the leading merchant maker of chlorine, caustic soda and vinyl chloride in the U.S. In 2013, Marc transferred to Oil & Gas, serving for fifteen months in Muscat, Oman before moving to Houston.

He loved art, music, travel, the beach, reading, collecting fine wines, dining out, and entertaining in his home, where his wife was the cook, and he was the Sommelier. There was never an empty glass on Marc’s watch. He was an enthusiastic member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, an international food and wine organization.

A Funeral Service was held at the Sparkman-Hillcrest chapel in Dallas on Wednesday, February 25, 2015. A Bagpiper then led the mourners on foot to a beautiful burial site near a serene lake. It had been icy and snowing until the service. Then a brilliant sun came out, and the paths and grass became dry and walkable. His pallbearers were Steven Corsun, Steven Sussman, Michael Thomas, Adam Levinson, Grant Gundersen, and Bryce Mangham.

Memorials in his honor may be made to one of three charities: Syracuse University for the Marc J. Kennedy Scholarship fund, which will go to a financially deserving undergraduate in the College of Arts and Science, The New Paltz Foundation, for scholarships that will go to a financially deserving high school senior who has been admitted to a four year college, or to Operation Kindness in Carrollton, the oldest and largest No-Kill Animal shelter in Texas.

For your convenience in making memorial contributions, please see the following addresses.

New Paltz Community Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 1112

New Paltz, NY 12561

for the Warren, Frances, and Marc Kennedy Scholarship fund

Syracuse University:

Karen Weiss Jones | Assistant Dean for Advancement

The College of Arts and Sciences

Syracuse University

312 Hall of Languages

Syracuse, New York 13244-1170

Operation Kindness:

3201 Earhart Drive

Carrollton, TX 75006