Doris Jurgens Kennedy
June 16, 1943 ~ March 17, 2012
Doris Jurgens Kennedy of Fairfax Station, Virginia, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on March 17th of this year. A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, she is deeply missed by all who knew her. Doris was predeceased by her parents, Robert and Dorothea Jurgens, and siblings Carol, Bobby, and Billy. She is survived by her husband of over 45 years, Leo, her brother, Bill (Dana), her children James (Keri), Brian (Angela), and Kristin (Todd) Sanford, and her grandchildren: Jamie, Justin, Tommy, Katie, Chrissy, Joseph, and Madison.
Originally from Rutherford, New Jersey, Doris was born on June 16, 1943. She attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, and was part of the first FDU class to study abroad at the Wroxton College Campus in England. She graduated with an Associate's Degree in Dental Hygiene in 1963, continued her education at FDU, and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in English in 1966. It was while studying dental hygiene that Doris met her core group of friends who nicknamed themselves "Club," and over time built friendships lasting a lifetime, gathering every year at each other's homes across the country. They were so faithful in their friendship that Doris's children grew up thinking Club was an official organization.
Doris nurtured friendships and relationships with zest throughout her entire life. She met Cadet Leo Kennedy of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1964 at a West Point dance. They were married February 18, 1967. Doris always looked forward to making new friends and did so as an Army wife for over 27 years as the family moved with Leo's assignments to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Illinois, New York, Kansas, Texas, Germany, Colorado, and Virginia.
Doris worked as a registered dental hygienist wherever they lived, spending the later years of her career with Dr. Bruce Wyman in Springfield, Virginia. Her magnetic personality and friendly smile drew people to her, and her patients were known for their loyalty to her. Several patients who had moved out of the area would return to have Doris clean their teeth year after year. A number of her patients stayed in touch after she retired to spend time with her grandchildren.
Doris loved spending time with her grandchildren. When she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2010, she professed profound sadness and disappointment knowing that she would not live long enough to spend several more years with her grandchildren. Doris was always a picture of perfect health and her diagnosis came as a shock. Scores of family, friends, and former patients contacted her after the diagnosis, expressing amazement that someone so full of life could be terminally ill, and offering their condolences and support.
Almost as memorable as Doris's personality and love of her grandchildren was her love of turtles. She could be found in antique stores and gift shops looking over the turtle collectibles for as long as anyone can remember, and more recently had become involved in actual Sea Turtle Rescue programs in South Carolina and Florida. In 2010 she participated with a group to help baby loggerhead turtles hatch and make their way to the sea.
A lover of nature, someone who was inclined to take long walks in the sun and rescue turtles from the side of the road, Doris lived life to the fullest. She was the kind of person you meet once in a lifetime but remember forever. The world quietly mourns her loss.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767, or the South Carolina Aquarium, Office of Institutional Advancement/Annual Giving, 100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston, SC 29401.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
Originally from Rutherford, New Jersey, Doris was born on June 16, 1943. She attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, and was part of the first FDU class to study abroad at the Wroxton College Campus in England. She graduated with an Associate's Degree in Dental Hygiene in 1963, continued her education at FDU, and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in English in 1966. It was while studying dental hygiene that Doris met her core group of friends who nicknamed themselves "Club," and over time built friendships lasting a lifetime, gathering every year at each other's homes across the country. They were so faithful in their friendship that Doris's children grew up thinking Club was an official organization.
Doris nurtured friendships and relationships with zest throughout her entire life. She met Cadet Leo Kennedy of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1964 at a West Point dance. They were married February 18, 1967. Doris always looked forward to making new friends and did so as an Army wife for over 27 years as the family moved with Leo's assignments to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Illinois, New York, Kansas, Texas, Germany, Colorado, and Virginia.
Doris worked as a registered dental hygienist wherever they lived, spending the later years of her career with Dr. Bruce Wyman in Springfield, Virginia. Her magnetic personality and friendly smile drew people to her, and her patients were known for their loyalty to her. Several patients who had moved out of the area would return to have Doris clean their teeth year after year. A number of her patients stayed in touch after she retired to spend time with her grandchildren.
Doris loved spending time with her grandchildren. When she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2010, she professed profound sadness and disappointment knowing that she would not live long enough to spend several more years with her grandchildren. Doris was always a picture of perfect health and her diagnosis came as a shock. Scores of family, friends, and former patients contacted her after the diagnosis, expressing amazement that someone so full of life could be terminally ill, and offering their condolences and support.
Almost as memorable as Doris's personality and love of her grandchildren was her love of turtles. She could be found in antique stores and gift shops looking over the turtle collectibles for as long as anyone can remember, and more recently had become involved in actual Sea Turtle Rescue programs in South Carolina and Florida. In 2010 she participated with a group to help baby loggerhead turtles hatch and make their way to the sea.
A lover of nature, someone who was inclined to take long walks in the sun and rescue turtles from the side of the road, Doris lived life to the fullest. She was the kind of person you meet once in a lifetime but remember forever. The world quietly mourns her loss.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767, or the South Carolina Aquarium, Office of Institutional Advancement/Annual Giving, 100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston, SC 29401.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
Leo, It’s been our privilege to get to know Doris over the last several years. It is good to know that she is with God and that at some point you will be reunited. Best regards and love, Pat & Judy Zilvitis
Brian, Please allow me to express my deepest sympathies to you and your family.
Through my association and friendship with her son, Brian, I have grown to appreciate the what a wonderful person and mother Doris Kennedy has been. My thoughts and sympathies are with her family and although I was not fortunate enough to meet her, I value her nurturing and loving relationship that produced a fine son in Brian.
We were so surprised to see Doris’s obit in our local paper in NJ. My Mom and Dad lived near Doris and her parents in Lyndhurst. They later lived in Rutherford as did Doris & family. Doris kept in touch with my Mom and sometimes requested that Mom drop a note to her Mom as my mother was one of the few people she remembered. We are so sorry to hear of her passing, she always tried to help keep her mom in touch with friends.