William O. "Bill" Kennedy's Obituary
William “Bill” Owen Kennedy age 90 of Muskegon, MI passed away September 24th, 2019 at his home in the presence of his family. He was born June 17, 1929 to William R. and Dorothy A. (Hartzell) Kennedy in the Bronx, New York. William enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and was discharged in 1947 due to an injury to his knee. Later he lost most of the fingers on his left hand in an industrial accident. That did not stop him from learning to play the steel guitar. He played with “The Rainbow Rangers” which played on all three of the radio stations in Muskegon, MI. His talent with the steel also led him to back up Audrey Williams and Hank Williams Jr on a national broadcast shortly after Hank Williams Sr had died as well as other artists such as Johny Carver, Connie Kato, Charlie Walker, Kenny Price, Red Sovine and Patsy Cline. He was also inducted into the Michigan Steel Guitar Hall of Fame on April 6th, 2003 alongside Gary Morse. William continued to play in a country music band up until 2019. He is survived by his sister Mary A. Kennedy, his daughters Dorothy (Rodney) Phillips, Paula VanWormer (her daughter Angela VanWormer), Marie (Bob) Lewelling, stepdaughter Dawn (Todd) Dumas, stepson Douglas (Lucia) Morgan along with several grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his stepson Robert Zane Dempkey in 1975, his brother Raymond Kennedy in 1978, his son Joesph Lee Kennedy in 1994, his son-in-law Richard VanWormer in 2014, his granddaughter Tera Mitchell in 2014, and his grandson Glen VanWormer in 2015. According to his wishes, a celebration of life in William’s honor will be held at 2:30PM on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at the VFW Derezinski Post #7729, 6285 E. Apple Ave, Muskegon, MI. Any friends or family that had the honor to play with William; the family invites you to bring your instruments and play a tune to celebrate his life. Arrangements entrusted to The Sytsema Chapel of Sytsema Funeral & Cremation Services, 737 E. Apple Ave., Muskegon, MI 49442.
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