Roland Kennedy

Roland Shelfer Kennedy, age 90, died on February 8, 2019. He was one of four children of the late Clarence R. Kennedy and Hilda Weatherly Kennedy. He is survived by his siblings, Margaret Kaiser, Raymond Kennedy (Shirley) of Havana, FL and Kay Hill (Douglas) of Marietta, GA. He is also survived by his two daughters of whom he was extremely proud, Kathryn Kennedy (Robert Lewinson) of Atlanta, GA and Carole Kennedy of Fairfax, VA; his outstanding grandchildren, Jaime Heaps (William) of Larkspur, CA, Carlin Lewinson of Boston, MA and Charlie Dolton of Studio City, CA; two exceptional great-grandchildren, Josie and Will Heaps; nieces, Kym Kennedy and Karen Lee (Jeff); and nephews, Christopher Kennedy (Tara) and Gregory Kaiser.

Roland was a native of Jacksonville, and graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1946. He began employment at the Barnett Bank the day after graduation and retired 47 years later as President of Barnett Bank of Pinellas County in St. Petersburg. Prior to transferring to St. Petersburg, he served as the President of the Barnett Bank of Jacksonville.

The bank provided many opportunities for professional education, including The School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.

He was active in fraternal organizations, being honored with the 33rd Degree of Scottish Rite Masons and was Potentate of The Morocco Shrine Center. He served 10 years on the Board of Directors of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. He enjoyed being a member of Court 90, Royal Order of Jesters.

Over the years, he was active in civic and community affairs, being appointed to the Jacksonville Community Relations Commission and the Downtown Development Authority. He also served on the Board of the Metropolitan YMCA, Jacksonville Blood Bank, Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of the Cathedral Foundation. He volunteered for many years, reading to the blind over the Radio Reading Service at WJCT and assisting patients as a longtime volunteer at The Mayo Clinic.

He loved THE LORD, his family, his many friends and especially his “Beautiful Greek Princess”, Irene Kelly.

He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, a Eucharistic Minister and Eucharistic Visitor.

A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 400 San Juan Avenue, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL on Thursday, February 28th at 1:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, offerings will be appreciated to Christ Episcopal Church or alternatively to Community Hospice and Palliative Care in Jacksonville.