In 1977 Bill went to take his masters degree at Western Washington University in Bellingham. He came back to work in Surrey. He graduated from WWU, and received his Master of Education in counseling degree in July 1978. In 1979, he went back to Richmond Probation. Bill encouraged his wife, Darlene to go back to Simon Fraser University to obtain her degree as a teacher.
Darlene stated:
"Bill enjoyed being a family court counselor. He preferred working with the challenge of mediation. He would be sorry to see how it has gone by the wayside. Bill believed that Family Court Counselors were doing a far greater service to the general population by dealing with custody and access without lawyers. I remember the time he had a case involving access. The father was supposed to drop off the kids at the ferry terminal in Tsawassen. But there was a concern that the father would leave the kids. So Bill wore a disguise and went to the ferry terminal to see what happened. But the guy never showed up. Later the man said that he was there but the mother never showed up! Bill never talked about names. But I remember the talk in Surrey about car thieves. He had this kid, and it didn't matter what they did: they tried everything but the kid kept stealing cars. Bill liked his work. We had a neighbor whose husband left her with two teenage sons. Bill talked to her and assured her that the two boys would come around. Bill was always actively involved in the community: always looking for ways to make things better."
Gordon Birrell, Bill's Local Director, at Richmond Probation and Family Court Services wrote:
"Bill Kennedy had a strong sense of justice, doing the right thing, of caring for both colleagues and clients, and he lived what he believed. These qualities cast Bill into various roles, champion of the underdog, a burr under the saddle of the system, a competent Family Court Counselor who would go beyond the call for his clients, a dedicated Youth Worker who invested many hours working with young people. Bill did not believe there were any bad kids. He was an excellent trainer who delighted in passing knowledge, a sometimes irritant at staff meetings, when he would not let go of an issue until it had been fully canvassed. I recall that over one issue, Bill arrived unannounced at my home, at 8 p.m., albeit with a bottle of wine, to continue the discussion. He was a good friend and valued colleague.
Eccentric, you say? Yes, he was eccentric, he was complex, he was human, in all of the connotations of that word. A quality which I sometimes fear we are losing in our need for standards and guidelines."
Bill Kennedy was involved, interested and intrigued with life; he did not go gentle into the goodnight but railed, railed against the passing of the light.
As one of his young probationers put it, 'it was not like having a Probation Officer, but a friend'.
Vicki Green worked with Bill in Vancouver. She stated: "I know it sounds tacky, but it is true: Bill was motivated by Love: it was evident in everything that he did".
Bill had a case where the children lived in Richmond and their father lived on Vancouver Island. No one was able to drive the children to catch the ferry, so Bill agreed to do it on his flex day (regular day off). He left early in the morning of June 18, 1993 to pick up the children so they could catch the 9 o'clock ferry.
He hadn't picked up the children yet when he came to the intersection of Shell Road and Alderbridge way in Richmond at about 7 AM. A young man was heading east on Alderbridge: The light changed, but the young man "gunned it". He was going too fast in a truck with bad brakes and a heavy load of carpet. He was following a friend, and he was late for an apprenticeship exam that he had to take. He hit Bill broadside, and Bill was killed instantly.
Darlene didn't find out about it until later in the morning, about 10:30 AM. She asked what time the accident happened. The policeman wasn't sure, he thought about 9 AM. By then Bill was supposed to have picked up the children and been on the ferry. Darlene asked: "what happened to the kids?" The policeman said: "What kids?" He left Darlene to worry about that one. She wanted to tell her sons, Matt and Nathan who were in school. But the policeman insisted that she come with him to identify Bill's body. Another police car drove up to the boys' school school, called the boys out of their classes, and then drove them home in the back of the police car. This started a rumor in the neighborhood that the Kennedy boys were in trouble. Later when Matt was having trouble in school, a teacher told Darlene "I don't think he likes me!" Darlene asked: "Didn't you know that his father was killed?" No one had told the teacher.
The funeral was at St. Mary's Catholic Roman Church in Vancouver. Darlene recalls a strange young woman at Bill's funeral, who went forward, patting the casket, as if she was a dear friend of Bill. But it turns out that the woman was a well-known freeloader who made the rounds of funerals to eat lots of free food.
The young man who killed Bill was charged and placed on bail awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Bills' son Matt was having a very difficult time getting over his father's sudden death. He was very close to his father. Darlene said the boys would not talk about it. In September of 1994, Darlene was invited to Ottawa for a ceremony honoring Bill Kennedy. Rob Watts, Director of the Corrections Branch, escorted her. But more tragedy was about to happen.
After the ceremony, Darlene returned to her hotel room, and was visited by the Ottawa-Carleton Police. They had terrible news: that her son Matthew had died. They gave her the cell phone number of the Vancouver Coroner, who happened to be Larry Campbell, now mayor of Vancouver. On Sept 25, 1994, Matthew had gone to a Eurythmics concert at the Roxy. He had refused alcohol, because he said he was driving. But he was already planning to die. The next day, a kid on the way to school found Matthew Kennedy hanging from a tree in a public park. Matt was only 19.
