Donate
Jo’s Story
A Teacher, Mentor, and Generous Friend Who Lived With Gratitude, Jo Kennedy Believed in the Promise of a Helping Hand
Born in San Francisco in 1926 into very modest circumstances, Jo Kennedy learned about self-reliance and pursuing opportunity from her father, Hugh Kennedy, with whom she maintained a close relationship throughout his life.
Immigrating from County Donegal to the United States in 1896, Hugh Kennedy worked as a laborer on the railroads and was in Yosemite when the 1906 Earthquake struck. Eventually settling in San Francisco, he became a shopkeeper, operating a grocery store on Harrison Street for many years. Despite his own lack of advantages, Hugh was a dedicated saver and investor who, in 1956, bought a house in Cow Hollow with his daughter, Jo. She would call it home for 55 years.
Jo attended University of California Berkeley but dropped out to work. Her father always encouraged her to return to college, and she enrolled at Stanford after his passing, earning a Master of Arts in 1965. After graduation, Jo joined the faculty at City College of San Francisco where she would teach English and ESL, and work as a speech therapist, for more than two decades until her retirement in 1992.
While Jo did not have children of her own, she was thought of as a mother by adoption by many of her students to whom she provided instruction, mentorship, and friendship while teaching and in retirement. Jo’s life was filled with the love of friends and former City College students from all regions of the world.
Close friends remember Jo, who passed away in August 2021 at the age 95, as a person who lived with a tremendous sense of gratitude at all times for the blessings in her life.
One such friend, Sandy Dean, said, “She was grateful for her education, for the opportunity to be a teacher and to educate others, for the joy students brought to her life, and for having financial resources that enabled her to live as she wanted, to travel, and to help others.”
Representing decades of work and modest living, Jo Kennedy’s legacy gift to St. Anthony’s reflects her generous spirit and hope for future generations. “As someone who could relate to people trying to better themselves, and who could benefit from a helping hand, Jo believed in St. Anthony’s mission to help the poor,” Dean said, adding, “The gift from Jo’s estate was made to help ensure that St. Anthony’s can extend that helping hand to anyone in need both today and tomorrow.”
During our 75th Anniversary year, all new bequest inclusion notifications will generate a $750 matching gift from generous members of our Speranza Society.
Questions? Want to know more?
We’re here to help!
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as financial, legal, or tax advice. St. Anthony’s recommends you consult with qualified, independent professionals before making decisions about your estate plans
