Jimmie Frances Kennedy

She was the mother of Union City High School principal Wesley Kennedy.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at E.E. Pickle Funeral Home in Amory, Miss., with Bishop Matthew Westcott presiding. Burial will follow in Smithville Cemetery.  
Pallbearers will be Thomas, Austin, Tucker, Ben, Dillon, Brock and Hayden Kennedy; Colby Burks; Clint Crawford; and Andrew Gazaway.  Honorary pallbearers will be Robert Fredrick, Billy Waddle, George Bowen, Chris McKissick, Robin Fredrick, Jimmy Nash, Wayne Thompson, Smithville High Class of 1957, Mike Comer, Dr. James Monroe, C.D. Leech and Troy Williams.
Visitation will be from 5-8 this evening at the funeral home.
Memorials may be given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; Ronald McDonald House Charities, Memphis, 26345 Network Place, Chicago, IL 60673-1263; or to Wegener’s Foundation Inc., 3705 South George Mason Drive, Suite 1813 South, Falls Church, VA 22041.
Born Sept. 28, 1939, in Smithville, she was the daughter of the late Charles Edward and Frances Beatrice (Lantrip) Cantrell. Jimmie Frances was a graduate of Smithville High School, Class of 1957. On Feb. 9, 1958, she married Ira C. Kennedy. She worked at Security Bank before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Jimmie Frances was a member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Soft spoken, kind, unselfish, strong in her beliefs and a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother, her church and family were an essential part of her life. Jimmie Frances enjoyed genealogy, gardening, cross-stitching, going to the Wellness Center and visiting the Smoky Mountains.
Survivors include her husband of 56 years, Ira Clayton Kennedy; her daughter and son-in-law, Amy and John Snow of Smithville; five sons and daughters-in-law, Gregg and Susan Kennedy and Paul and Misty Kennedy, all of Smithville, Kevin and Bobbie Kennedy of Charleston, Miss., Keith “Pete” and Kitsi Kennedy of Guntown, Miss., and Wesley and Teka Kennedy of Union City; 16 grandchildren and their spouses, Thomas and Bonny Kennedy, Kara and Colby Burks, Ben Kennedy, Hannah and Clint Crawford, Chelsey and Andrew Gazaway, Austin Kennedy, Dillon Kennedy, Brandi Bridges, Halle Kennedy, Tucker Kennedy, Hayden Kennedy, Lane Kennedy, Brock Kennedy, Mollie Rose Kennedy, Ashtyn Hensley and Marley Kate Snow; two great-grandchildren, Analyn Crawford and Chase Burks; her sister and brother-in-law, Joy and Larry Jordan of Gainesville, Fla.; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Eddie and Carol Cantrell of Starkville, Miss., and R.W. and Jane Cantrell of Amory, Miss.; her brother-in-law, Lawrence E. “Rabbit” Kennedy of Wren, Miss.; and several nieces and nephews.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at eepicklefuneralhome.com.