Sammie Ray Kennedy

Sammie Ray Kennedy was born November 15, 1938, to Sarah Griffin Kennedy and Edwin L. Kennedy in Quincy, FL. He moved to Montgomery in his early teens. He was married to Bernice Jeanette Capell Kennedy for 58 years. They were introduced by her father. Sam was a history and government teacher who started his career at Baker High School in Columbus, GA. He taught for ten years at Lee High School and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2007. He was the principal of Highland Gardens Elementary School for 21 years. After retiring from Montgomery Public Schools, he taught at Lowndes Academy and worked as a librarian at the Montgomery City-County Public Library. He loved his family, his friends and teaching school. He is well remembered by his students, and he remembered them long after he taught them.

He was a long-time member of Aldersgate UMC in Montgomery, and he leaves many friends there and in the other churches he attended throughout his life. He is survived by his wife Jeanette, son Thomas Edwin Kennedy (Thea Brock), daughter Leila Rebecca Kennedy, his beloved sister, Shirley Kennedy Tillery and his cherished nieces and nephews.

A friends and family visitation for Sammie will be held Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Leak Memory Chapel, 945 Lincoln Road, Montgomery, AL 36109, followed by a celebration of life chapel service at 2:00 PM with Rev. Steve Badskey officiating. Services will conclude with a burial in Greenwood Cemetery.