Pharmacist, music store owner.
Born at Almonte, Ontario on 29 August 1880, son of Hugh Kennedy and Catherine O’Malley, he graduated from the Almonte High School in 1898 then apprenticed at an Ottawa pharmacy for five years. He received a pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto in June 1904.
He operated a pharmacy at Toronto for a year then he came to Manitoba, formed a partnership with Dr. Fraser, Dr. McDonald, and Joseph Blyth Whitehead in a drug store at the corner of Rosser Avenue and Eleventh Street in Brandon. He eventually bought out his partners.
In 1941, he bought the Crawford Block at the corner of Seventh Street and Rosser Avenue, which then became known as the Kennedy Block. His company, P. A. Kennedy Music, operated at this location for over 30 years.
He was appointed to the Manitoba Power Commission in 1948.
On 8 February 1911, he married Mary Kathleen Knox (1889-1962) at Winnipeg. He had a son, Edwin Hugh Kennedy (1912-?). He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church.
He died at Brandon on 29 November 1962 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery. In 1967, Kennedy Bay in Brandon was proposed to commemorate him but that idea was not carried out. He is probably commemorated now by Kennedy Place in the Kirkcaldy Heights subdivision in Brandon.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kilgour House (830 Lorne Avenue, Brandon)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brown House (714 Lorne Avenue, Brandon)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Crawford Block / Kennedy Block (640 Rosser Avenue, Brandon)
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
“R. C. Smellie heads Power Commission,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 February 1948, page 3.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank David McConkey for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 June 2026
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