King Kullen Co-Chairman Bernard D. Kennedy Dies

Bernard D. Kennedy, co-chairman and former president of King Kullen Grocery Co., died at the age of 92 on Feb. 17 at his home in Point Lookout, N.Y., according to his sons King Kullen Co-President J. Donald Kennedy, and King Kullen Secretary and General Counsel Bernard P. Kennedy.

The second of four generations of the Kennedy family that have been involved in King Kullen over the course of its 88-year history, Kennedy spent his entire career at the company.

“He is responsible for many of the merchandising and marketing changes and improvements we have made over the years, and personally oversaw countless details that enhanced our offering in the marketplace,” observed Co-President Brian Cullen. “Beyond the efforts Mr. Kennedy made in our stores, he made a difference with the leadership and guidance he provided to our management and employees. As well as having a sharp mind for business, Mr. Kennedy had an unwavering moral compass that set the standard for the operating practices we embrace today. We were fortunate to have him in our midst, and he will be missed.”

Born in 1925, in Syracuse, N.Y., and raised in the New York City borough of Queens, Kennedy was the son of J. Donald Kennedy and Gertrude Cullen Kennedy. During World War II, he served in the Navy as a gunner on a ship in the North Atlantic. He married Dorothy Bloodgood in 1949, the same year he began his career at King Kullen in an entry-level office position. He worked at various jobs at the company, including buyer, assistant VP and VP for merchandising, before becoming president, a role he held from 1984 to 1998.

While working for King Kullen, Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in marketing from St. John’s University in 1954, and then took night classes to earn a degree from the college’s law school four years later.

He was also something of a renaissance man.

“One of my father’s lesser-known avocations was writing operas,” noted Bernard P. Kennedy.  “He had several productions performed locally. He also enjoyed fishing and was an avid golfer.”

Causes he supported included The Nature Conservancy, where he led the acquisition of Mashomack Preserve, a 2,039-acre property on Shelter Island, N.Y.; St. John’s University President’s Council; and the former Long Beach Medical Center, where he was the board president for years.

In addition to his wife and sons J. Donald and Bernard P., Kennedy’s survivors include his children Maura LaBella, Terence Kennedy and Dr. Eugene Kennedy, as well as 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Founded by Kennedy’s uncle, Michael Cullen, in 1930, Bethpage, N.Y.-based King Kullen currently operates 32 supermarkets and five Wild by Nature stores on New York’s Long Island.