Memorial services begin Thursday for a former San Francisco supervisor who passed away last month at the age of 90.
A memorial service for Willie B. Kennedy is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church at 1975 Post St.
Previously: Former SF Supe Willie B. Kennedy Remembered: “She Was Just Incredible”
Kennedy, who died on June 28 after suffering a heart attack, served on the city’s Board of Supervisors from 1981 to 1996. She was initially appointed to the spot by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein, then won
re-election three times.
She had since held the position of president of San Francisco’s Southeast Community Facility Commission, which provides economic support and other help to Bayview-Hunters Point and other neighborhoods in the southeast part of the city.
On Friday, Kennedy’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m., also at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, where she had been a member of the congregation since the mid-1950s.
The former supervisor was praised for her service by current members of the board at Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisor London Breed recalled being in high school and interviewing Kennedy.
“She had a commanding presence and was pretty amazing,” Breed said. “Right then and there I wanted to be that type of person.”
She said, “Over the years we’ve definitely become friends. She’s someone I truly admired.”
Supervisor Malia Cohen, who now represents District 10, the southeast neighborhoods that Kennedy served, called her “a champion for the people.”
Cohen said, “If she ever smiled at you or complimented you, or gave you a gift or even disagreed with you, she had a way of doing it with class.”
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
