Berry Belton Kennedy

Dateline – Joanna

Berry Belton Kennedy, Sr., age 89, of James Road, Joanna, entered into Life Eternal on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at his home.
Berry made his entrance into the world on the last day of May in 1926, in the Youngs Township area of Laurens County, South Carolina. He said that his parents, William Layfette and Lena Smith Kennedy, chose his first name because that was about the time that blackberries ripened, and his middle name was in honor of Dr. Belt Workman, who had helped deliver him and several of his siblings.
Berry attended schools at Youngs, Liberty Ridge, Central, Hurricane, and Clinton High.
Berry, along with his younger twin brothers, Roscoe & Vascoe, moved to Clinton in 1941 to make their home with their sister and brother-in-law, Beatrice and Floyd Gann, after the passing of their father. Their mother passed away at the young age of 38 in 1935.
Berry became employed in the card room of Joanna Cotton Mills in June, 1941, and later moved to the spinning room. As fate would have it, awhile later a pretty young girl was also hired to learn to spin. Miss Sadie Louise Moon caught his eye and won his heart. She would have had other suitors had they not been afraid of her father. Berry knew that he had to make his move and summoned up the courage to visit the Moon residence and shyly announced, "I'm here to see Sadie", to which her towering bear-of-a-father replied, "Well, come on in!"
Berry and Sadie were married on June 10, 1944, at the Laurens County Court House. The ceremony was performed by Judge J. Hewlett Wasson and was witnessed by Berry's sister Bea and Sadie’s father Roy.
In December of that same year, Uncle Sam called Berry's number and he was gone with the draft. Like many others of The Greatest Generation, Berry left his young bride to serve in the United States Army during World War II. He was stationed in Okinawa and later in Korea. It was while Berry was in Okinawa that Sadie gave birth to their first child, Berry, Jr. The couple would go on to add three daughters to their family.
Berry lost his beloved Sadie to cancer on April 28, 1967.
Berry was employed by Greenwood Mills for 46 years, retiring in 1988. He enjoyed gardening and sharing the fruits of his labor with family, friends, and neighbors. He had a special ability to be able to fix anything with WD-40 and a Craftsman Wrench, and many of the neighborhood boys hung around "Mr. Berry" to learn to be shadetree mechanics. He was a big fan of the Atlanta Braves.
He was a superb storyteller, and his recollections of childhood, tales of Army life, and yarns about work in the cotton mill would have you busting a gut laughing one minute and reaching for Kleenex the next. He was also a pretty good artist. He entertained his family with the most off-the-wall cartoons you could imagine. He also loved to add creative captions and thought bubbles to the photographs in newspapers and magazines. He never missed the chance to work the daily Crossword, Jumble, and Cryptoquote… or to scan the Obituaries for his name.
Berry could sing like Bing Crosby, if he so desired. His favorite singers were Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Jimmie Davis, Ernest Tubb, and other pioneering country music greats. He often wrote playlists for his #1 to find and burn onto CDs. He asked for everything from “The Democratic Donkey (Is In His Stall Again)” (the first phonograph record he’d heard as a child) to “The Prisoner’s Song” by Vernon Dalhart to even a few by Elvis!
Berry was honored to be inducted into the Laurens County Hall of Heroes and to serve with several fellow WWII veterans as Grand Marshals in the Clinton Christmas Parade in 2015.
Berry was the proud Papa of Christopher Crawford and his wife Ashley, Anthony Kennedy, and Katherine Louise Williams, whom he referred to as his “#1”. He also loved his great-granddaughters, Natalie and Savannah Crawford.
Berry also took delight in the antics of his three “grandcats”, Licker, Bailey (whom he lovingly called “Fuzzball”), and Pesky (to whom he befittingly added the moniker “Sneaky”). Licker was his constant companion, and had him wrapped around his furry paw. All three kitties relied on Papa to supply them with Temptations Catnip treats.
Berry was predeceased by his siblings, Lawrence Albert Kennedy, Rubie Mae Kennedy, Vascoe Smith Kennedy, Beatrice Kennedy Gann, James W. (Jim) Kennedy, and Roscoe Wallace Kennedy.
He was also preceded in death by his daughters, Mary Frances Kennedy Crawford and Wanda Gail Kennedy Leroy.
In addition to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, left to cherish his memory are his son, Berry Belton Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Susan, of Green Bay, Wisconsin; son-in-law, Frank Leroy of Clinton; and his daughter, Karen Lynn Kennedy Williams and her husband Paul, of Joanna.
Berry was the epitome of the small town Southern man. He lifted his hands to Jesus and thanked God that Obama cannot run for re-election.
It was his hope to reunite and dance once again with his sweet Sadie in Heaven.
Graveside services will be conducted Saturday, April 30 at 1 PM at Rosemont Cemetery in Clinton, South Carolina.

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” – II Timothy 4:7

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.grayfuneralhome.com
Gray Funeral Home - Clinton