Obituary: George F. Kennard, Completed Several Outward Bound Expeditions Including Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro After Retirement

Obituary from Conte Funeral Home.

George F. Kennard, 90, of North Andover, Massachusetts died peacefully on Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day, at Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover.

George was born on January 10, 1925 in Baltimore, Maryland to the late William and Elsie (Kramer) Kennard. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie Shea Kennard of North Andover, Massachusetts, and his sister Harriet Higgs of Reisterstown, Maryland. He graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic School at age 16, and was in the third year of Johns Hopkins University when The Second World War started. George joined the Navy and was assigned to the V-12 program at Tufts University, where he graduated with an Electrical Engineering Degree in 1945. He attended Midshipman School at Columbia University, graduating as an Ensign. In 1947, he married Marjorie Shea, whom he met at Tufts, and started a family.

George is survived by his wife Marjorie Kennard of North Andover, his two sons Mark Kennard and his wife Christine of Beverly, Massachusetts and Paul Kennard and his wife Jennifer of Seattle, Washington. George is also survived by his daughter Gail Hernandez and her husband Victor of North Reading, Massachusetts and was predeceased by his daughter Kate Kennard in 1981. Also among his survivors are his five grandchildren, Teha, Seth, Tobi, Megan, and Jennifer, as well as his 5 great-grandchildren, Jack, Ella, Charlotte, Felix and Hugo. He was their beloved “Pop Pop”.

After discharge from the Navy, George joined IBM where he spent his entire 40 year career engaged in Research and Development activities associated with large scale computing systems. He held a variety of increasingly responsible positions ranging from Director of Engineering and Research to President of the Data Systems Division, where he oversaw the largest computer and programming operations at IBM. He developed multiple patents, including the first ever Digital Navigation system for High Speed aircraft, installed on all B-52s; some still in use today. He characterized his career as “like being able to play in a sandbox and getting paid”.

Simultaneous to his business career and family life, he was dedicated to community service, serving on the Planning Board, Board of Trustees, and Mayor for Briarcliff Manor, NY where his family lived for 30 years. He was the president of the Board of Directors at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York. He continued this tradition of service in North Andover where he was an elected member of the Resident Council at Edgewood Retirement Community. He also maintained an active outdoor life, which included hiking, skiing, and racquet sports. Every summer he and the family were found at the beach, on Cape Cod. After retirement, he completed several Outward Bound expeditions including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. He will be remembered as a warm, generous, thoughtful and caring husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He lived his life by example, always putting family first.

A Funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday March 21, 2015 at 9:30 AM at St. Michael’s Church in North Andover, immediately followed by a gathering of family and friends at the Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover. A private family burial will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.