Gerrard (Gerry) Kennedy, BAgr 1948 (died on 27 April 2017, aged 93)
Obituary provided by Dr Fiona McErlane (née Kennedy), Queen’s Medical graduate (1979)
Gerrard Michael Kennedy died on 27 April 2017 aged 93. Gerry graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree from Queen’s University in 1948. He met his future wife Rosa when they were both students at Queen’s; they married in 1952 and had three children.
Gerry initially worked in the then Ministry of Agriculture. His work involved travelling around much of Northern Ireland where he made many lifelong friends among the farming community.
He took up a post as lecturer in Greenmount Agricultural College in Antrim in 1965, later becoming Vice Principal. It was at Greenmount that Gerry found his true calling in teaching young people. He had a natural rapport with the students many of whom kept in contact with him long after they had left the College. He loved to reminisce about the pranks the students had got up to and how he managed to deal with their boisterous high spirits.
Gerry also had many close friends among the staff at Greenmount, and continued to attend College events and reunions up until his health deteriorated in recent years.
He had a lifelong passion for gardening, which he shared with his wife Rosa. Between them they had a huge knowledge of plants and could get almost anything to grow. After they retired they continued to derive enormous pleasure from the wonderful garden they had created together at their home in Antrim. His wife Rosa died after a short illness in 2004.
Gerry was a highly intelligent man and very widely read. His knowledge of Latin came in useful when doing crosswords. He loved reading and poetry, and often quoted snatches of his best loved verses. He was a fluent Irish speaker.
Gerry was an entertainer, a bon viveur, a kind man who was interested in people and who loved people, and who was much loved in return.
He is survived by his three children and four grandchildren.
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