Author and local historian Barbara Merrill Kennedy, 82, died March 19 surrounded by her family at home in Boulder Creek. An open house is planned in early April.
Mrs. Kennedy was born Aug. 19, 1927, in Minneapolis and spent her early childhood in Port Townsend, Wash. At 9 years old, she moved with her mother to Hollywood. She attended Hollywood High School and University of California, Los Angeles, and married William Kennedy on Jan. 22, 1949. Together, they raised a large family in the Los Angeles area. Professionally, she spent several years in the market research industry.
After the Kennedys retired in 1976, they moved to the small town of Fish Camp, outside of Yosemite Valley, where they shared their common love of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Eventually, to be closer to two of their sons and their families, the couple moved to Boulder Creek, where Mr. Kennedy died in 1996.
For 18 years, Mrs. Kennedy enjoyed owning The Country Home, a store in Boulder Creek that specialized in American folk art. She also became associated with the San Lorenzo Valley Museum and helped with its relocation to the present church building in 1996. She closed her store in 2004 and took on various positions at the museum. She recently served as a director and the museum’s primary historical interpreter.
Mrs. Kennedy was also a member of the Historic Resource Commission, serving as 5th District chairwoman and a member of the Historic Landmark Committee of Santa Cruz County. She was an organizer and the author of “Historic Homes of Boulder Creek,” a book that documented the lives of some of the early leaders of Boulder Creek and the homes they built.
Mrs. Kennedy is survived by her four children, Christopher Kennedy of Bristol, Tenn.; Kathleen DiSalvo, and her husband, Charles, of Morgantown, W.Va.; Jeffrey Kennedy, and his wife, Lynne, of Boulder Creek, and David Kennedy, and his wife, Alicia; brother, Charles Merrill, and his wife, Nancy; 11 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a large extended family and many friends.
An open house in her memory will be from 2 to 4 p.m. April 3 at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, 12547 Highway 9, in Boulder Creek.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Kennedy’s name may be sent to the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, P.O. Box 576, Boulder Creek, CA 95006.
