Ethel Mae Morris Kennedy

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Ethel Mae Morris Kennedy was born December 7, 1920 in Bessemer, Alabama. Her parents were Gracie Lee and Alfred Morris. To this union were born five girls.

At age 12, Ethel united with the Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church in Bessemer.

In 1944, she was united in marriage with the late Reverend Earl Kennedy and spent more than 30 years sharing the ministry of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church at many affiliate churches throughout the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as well as conferences that spanned the Midwest. At the C.M.E. annual conferences, she was a member of the Southern Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin Conference Missionaries and Ministers’ Wives and Spouses Alliance.

Ethel has received numerous awards recognizing her contributions to her church and community. She was a member of the Douglas Center Seniors Group, the Minister’s Wives Alliance, and Church Women United of Champaign-Urbana.

Even after she retired, through her love and devotion to the church, she still served as Stewardess, a representative to Church Women United, and supported all programs at the St. Luke Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Her hobbies included bike riding, bowling, crocheting, knitting and sewing.

Ethel Mae Morris Kennedy passed away on November 26, 2011.