Dr. Edwin D. Kennedy

MASON CITY: Dr. Edwin D. Kennedy, 91, of Mason City, died Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at the Good Shepherd Health Center. Memorial services will be held Saturday, September 6, 2014 at 11:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church, 100 S. Pierce Ave. with the Rev. Paul Collier officiating. There will be no visitation, as Dr. Kennedy has donated his body to the Department of Anatomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City. Memorials may be directed to Hospice of North Iowa or the First Presbyterian Church. Ed was born September 25, 1922 in Bloomington, Indiana, the second of four sons of John William and Mary Emma (Russell) Kennedy. Growing up in Bloomington, Ed spent his summers helping out on the family-owned farm. Ed graduated from Bloomington High School in 1940 and then attended Indiana University in Bloomington; however, his college studies were interrupted in the fall of 1942 when he enlisted to serve with the US Navy in WWII. Ed served as a Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class aboard the USS Cyrene, a PT boat tender stationed in the South Pacific, primarily in the Philippine Islands, where he and his shipmates helped treat war casualties, repaired damaged PT boats and kept them supplied. Because 3 of their 4 sons served in war zones overseas, Ed’s parents lived with anxiety during the war years but proudly displayed the three star service emblem in the window of their home. Ed was honorably discharged in February of 1946, after which he completed his education at IU. Ed then attended IU medical school in Bloomington and graduated June 16, 1952. During his internship at the Reading Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, he met his future wife, Dorothy Anna Roboski, who was a registered nurse in the operating room, and they were married October 8, 1953 in Danville, Indiana. Ed completed his residency in Urology at IU Medical Center in Indianapolis. Following his residency training, the family moved briefly to Wausau, Wisconsin and then to Mason City in 1957 when Ed was hired as a Urologist at the Park Clinic, which later became the North Iowa Medical Center. In addition to serving on a number of Mason City civic committees, Ed served as President of the North Central Section of the American Urologic Association in 1984, a rare honor for a non-academic clinician. Ed retired in 1991 at the age of 69 after nearly 35 years of active practice. Ed is survived by his children, Dr. Jeffrey D. (Carolyn) Kennedy of Carmel, IN, Julia A. (James) Caputo of San Diego, CA, Dr. Timothy J. (Stephanie) Kennedy of Green Bay, WI, 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild, brothers Joseph P. (Peggy) Kennedy of Lexington, KY and John Donald (Joann) Kennedy of Greenfield, IN, and many nieces and nephews. Ed was preceded in death by his parents, wife Dorothy, and brother, Russell.