Vicki L Kennedy

Vicki Lee Kennedy was born on February 10th, 1967 in Mission Hills, California to her parents, Tom and Barbara Creed. They instantly fell in love with their little girl. From the moment she was born she was loved and adored by all who were fortunate enough to know her. It was very apparent she was a special person- bright, curious, loved adventure, new experiences, and always trying to grow up as fast as she could. At 3 years old she made her first best friend, her sister Patti, two years later another one, Lauri and then followed by her baby brother, Michael. By this time they settled into Bremerton, WA for the long haul.

Vicki loved school and excelled, just like she would in anything she would do. She was always so loving and caring to all those around her. Her charisma was magnetic and everyone enjoyed every minute they had with her. She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 12 years old and earned her Young Women’s Medallion before she graduated from Olympic High School in 1985. Some of you may not be aware of, but she also participated in 4H raising market pigs, danced ballet, and won Miss Congeniality in a pageant.

In 1986 Vicki’s friend Melenda Kennedy introduced her to her goofy brother, John, and he quickly won her over with his corny jokes. They instantly fell in love, he proposed and 19 days later they were married on May 9th, 1987. Not only did she marry her best friend that day, she also gained more family- her in-laws, Doug and Marian Kennedy along with more siblings- Karen, Melenda, Brian, Mandi and Nadine. John and Vicki spent the years kissing on each other and dancing obnoxiously in the kitchen. They had fun being goofy, laughing, playing games with family and friends, going on dates, family sing-a-longs in the car, and enjoying each other’s company. They loved each other beyond measure. They spent 31 years being an example to all of us what it truly means to love someone unconditionally, respect one another, bring humor and levity to all situations and always work as a team.

John and Vicki both valued love and family above anything else, so naturally they wanted to start their family right away. The first of the Kennedy girls, Lauren, came along and was quickly followed by Heather, Emmalee, and Jessica. Or as Vicki always called them- Lauren, Heathi, Emmy, and Jessi- unless they were in trouble, of course. In addition to the 4 girls that kept her running non-stop, she collected up a handful of adopted daughters- ones that she loved and treated as her own. She loved those girls more than anything and reminded them constantly with a frequent, “I love you girlie”. Whether it was staying up until all hours sewing, baking, watching every school performance, church activities, she was always there. She took pride in all their big moments through the years- by their side and watching them experience life through their successes and learning opportunities. She supported each of them without question in every moment of their lives, because that is exactly the person she is- loving, caring and always taking care of those around her.

The girls always, including Vicki, anxiously awaited the release of the next Junie B. Jones book and she would sit in the hall reading these for hours in the way only Vicki could, animated and creating very vivid pictures. Fair week was always crazy and fun for everyone but her- she would manage to get the girls out the door, dropped off, work all day, and then get back to the fairgrounds with a hot meal running on no sleep from the late nights in the barn. Yet, always had a warm smile on her face. Even worse than fair week... was softball season. John played on the Silverdale First Ward team and they toted all the kids with them for many weekends and anniversaries spent at the fields with her always cheering in the stands. Once the girls started playing, the schedules multiplied to 6 teams that Vicki juggled. Half the year was spent at the fields cheering on back-to-back games, followed by cooking late night meals and ordering Dominos, which is why to this day none of the girls care for pizza. There were several years she would put her craft skills to use earning extra Christmas money in bazaars; her, John and her sister Patti spent many sleepless nights painting and building- running on diet coke and chocolate.

As you are all likely aware, Vicki never half-butted anything! Every event was planned to a T. Decorations were never lacking; whether it was a birthday, ward activity, holiday… it was absolutely beautiful and perfect. She has a door wreath for every season and holiday, and totes stacked to the ceiling with all her treasures she spent days decorating with. The most elaborate one of course, has always been Christmas. I think she likely has about 37 full size totes of all her snowmen, nativities, garlands, snow, and lights.

Christmas was hands-down her favorite. It took about a week to get all the decorations up. The family would all drive up to the tree farm Thanksgiving weekend singing along to the Kenny and Dolly Christmas album to find the perfect tree. When the girls were young they would go to Grandma and Grandpa’s for dinner and caroling around the piano, then over to Grammy and Poppy’s for dessert and presents, followed by a yummy cinnamon roll and one pan breakfast Christmas morning. As the years passed and moves were made, Vicki and John hosted Christmas morning at their house with the girls and their families. She’d spend hours shopping on Amazon throughout the year, gathering up the perfect gifts for each of them. She’d make Christmas pjs and goodies galore. Everyone eagerly awaited for her Christmas candies, handmade chocolates, and cookies that she always spent days making.

Of all people to love and indulge in Vicki’s incredible baking, her work family at Legacy Dental would be some of the most appreciative. Working in the dental field was nothing new, considering she worked for her dad for many years. Whether it was doing sterilization, dental assisting, or front office, Vicki could do it all so well; like all things. With the girls gone from home, she needed to find some new mouths to feed (more like spoil) and did there. She’d search for the perfect recipes and had all their favorites she’d bring in depending which doctors were working which days. She loved them all so much and truly enjoyed her days at work, even on the longest and craziest of days.

Vicki always remained an active member in the Silverdale 2nd ward. She held many callings, whether it was the ward activity coordinator, primary teacher, or young women’s, she really did it all. The last few years she spent in the nursery. Despite that being the most frustrating calling to have, she loved it and loved spending time with the kids. She especially loved this because of her time with her dear friend Kori. She cracked her up and made the exhausting Sundays worth it. She loved to visit teach her friend Jeanette and go on all their countless adventures. She also loved her visiting teacher and friend Lora and all her visits. They all spent countless hours talking about the thing that matters most, family.

Vicki had many big moments in her life:

• The day she met John

• The day she married him

• The day they welcomed their children into the world.

Yet, the most monumental moment of her life was on May 30th, 2008 at approximately 1:30pm. Kynnedy Lee Davis joined this world and at that moment she became Grammy. A few short weeks later came Ella, and throughout the years Tanna, Greyson, Colton, Addison, Gabe, Graham, Remi, Liam and most recently baby Aidan all followed. Anyone who has met Vicki knows how much she loved and adored all of these little people. She always had pictures on hand and very animated detailed stories to share about her 11 beautiful grandkids. She would regularly say, “I don’t know how we got so blessed. We have 4 beautiful daughters, and not only do we have all these grandkids; but they are healthy and all of them are so beautiful!!” As you all know, likely from personal experience, there’s usually one not so cute of a kid in the bunch- but Vicki knew her family was the exception.

Vicki took any and every opportunity to spend time with them and be the most incredible Grammy. A few years ago she started everyone’s favorite tradition of all- Cousin Camp. Everyone knows about cousin camp. She’d take the entire week off work and run her own day camp for her favorite people. She would plan for the entire year all the different daily themes, crafts, and activities for the week. They’d make camp shirts and spend the whole week enjoying every moment of each other.

Because it’s the core of who she is, even as a Grammy, she inevitably spent her Saturdays at the fields, attended countless school performances, late night sewing projects, being there and showing all her love and support to the people she loved was one of the most important things to her.

Vicki loved her family, but we all know who was her very best friend and who she loved the very most… Zekel Thomas. They went on countless walks, spent days at the beach and snuggled constantly. She spoiled him to the point of he would bark the moment he saw her pull in the driveway because he knew she’d walk in the front door, start talking in her high pitch, teeth clenching, dog voice and feed him a cookie. Every single time- no matter how quick the trip. Out of all her cute options for pictures... It was a picture of him for both her background photo and screen saver on her phone. Once she got sick you could see his worry and he would sneak into her bed during the night to take care of her.

No one can find the silver lining and put a positive spin on things the way she always did. Even though her life was changed for the worst in an instant- 80 days before she left this world- she was still a beacon of light and hope for all those around her. She found the humor in the hardest and most frustrating moments. Something most of us struggle to do. She always reminded us to make the most of our time and show those we love how important they are. And she did that. Wherever she went, she made the world a better place.

It is impossible to find the right words to describe the incredible person Vicki was from the moment she was born to the moment she left this earth. She loved all those around her unconditionally, she had a smile that would light up any room she entered, hugs that could melt away even the worst days, she truly cared and wanted everyone to feel loved. She was always so thoughtful, selfless and would go out of her way to make someone’s day. There will forever be a void in our hearts, but we will honor her legacy and strive to be even just half the person she was.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at Kitsap Credit Union in the Vicki Kennedy Memorial Fund (Account # 566695) to help the family during this difficult time.