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By Mandy Haggerson

For the Clemmons Courier

Marian Kennedy’s earliest memories include playing lots of different sports. Whether she played for her school’s volleyball, basketball or soccer team at St. Leo’s or then Twin City soccer team, she was always doing something active.

“I was very fortunate to have some wonderful coaches that continued my love for trying new sports,” said Kennedy. That even included her mom and brother coaching some of her teams at St. Leo’s. “My brother Jay was five years older than me, and when he helped coach my soccer team that was a way for him to spend time with me which meant a lot. My mom was just as passionate about sports as I was, and we loved sharing that together when she was my basketball coach.” 

Sports helped Kennedy with making and maintaining friendships at Mt. Tabor High School too.

“Some of the people I met while I was there are still very dear friends of mine. Playing sports does help with building lifelong friendships along with teaching valuable life lessons,” said Kennedy. 

During her time in high school, Kennedy also got a taste of traveling with her school.

“Both my mom and dad supported my traveling to Europe with my school, and it was such a tremendous opportunity. I realized then how much I wanted to try new things. So, when I began to look at college options, I thought I wanted to leave the state initially,” said Kennedy. 

However, once Kennedy went on the campus of Eastern Carolina University she was immediately drawn to how friendly and welcoming the community was.

“It was the only North Carolina school I applied to so it’s ironic I ended up there. They had a really strong program in speech pathology that I had entertained majoring in, so that sealed the deal in my mind,” said Kennedy. 

While at ECU, Kennedy learned more about a class she took in child life.

“Most people don’t know much about it, but the focus is on helping families navigate the hospital setting with extremely sick children. Sometimes the kids are so sick, they have to live there. I was immediately drawn to that field, and that became my major, although I still minored in speech pathology. Something about helping families during those uncertain and scary times seemed more impactful and meaningful to me,” said Kennedy. “I felt like I could really make a difference.” 

To further her understanding and studies of child life, Kennedy chose to pursue a master’s program in the subject also.

“I stayed at ECU to complete the two-year program,” said Kennedy. “A lot of that time was spent interning to help with real-world experience.”

During that time, Kennedy also met her future husband, Darryl.

“He had come back and visited some of our mutual friends in Greenville. We started dating, and realized how much we had in common,” said Kennedy. 

For the last semester of her master’s program, Kennedy was at Duke’s Children Hospital and Health Center.

“I stayed there for two years before Darryl and I got married, and we ultimately settled in this area. I worked at Brenner’s Children Hospital until our second daughter was born,” said Kennedy. “The baby years are tough, and we decided that worked best for our family.”

Kennedy and her older brother, Jay, although five years apart, were enjoying sharing similar milestones together with marriage and having children of their own.

“His first two children, Arabelle and Emery, were born so close to my daughters, Alice and Gray which made it so neat to be able to share that together,” said Kennedy. Both the Lowe and Kennedy families were very excited to learn that Jay was expecting a third daughter with his wife, Courtney.

“It was devastating when Jay died unexpectedly at only 38 years old. We still don’t quite know what caused it. The symptoms started off like the flu, and when he went to the hospital, his organs started shutting down inexplicably,” said Kennedy.

Professionally, Kennedy had provided comfort for many families that had tragedy strike their families. Now Kennedy had to endure the toughest heartache of losing her role model and big brother, Jay so suddenly.

“We had remained close up until the day he passed. We talked on the phone, shared stories about our kids, and I loved that I got to see him as a dad. He was amazing at it, and he loved his children and family so very much,” said Kennedy.

It remains important to Kennedy to still keep Jay’s memory alive with her family, especially to her girls.

“I don’t think there is a day that goes by without me talking about Uncle Jay. They know who he was, and how he loved them. I am also in awe of his girls, including Cora who he never got to meet. They are incredible young ladies with a wonderful mom,” said Kennedy. 

Honoring her brother’s memory with stories and keeping in contact with Courtney and his daughters will always be important to Kennedy.

“Another way my family likes to honor Jay is by giving blood. When his organs were shutting down, he required a lot of blood transfusions, and if generous donors had not donated their own, that would not have been possible,” said Kennedy. 

Kennedy recognizes how precious and fleeting life is.

“Loss is something everyone will have to experience at some time. My girls remind me daily to appreciate the little things. Whether we are at one of their activities or sporting events, visiting the beach, or just spending quality time together, I feel lucky I get to be their mom. They teach me new things too, including the sports they’ve developed an interest in like lacrosse and field hockey. I had never tried that myself, and I love seeing them hone their skills and find new passions. Those moments bring such joy and for that I am most grateful,” said Kennedy.