Barbara June (Spiegel) Kennedy, October 6, 1932 – July 1, 2020

Last updated 7/14/2020 at Noon

Barbara June (Spiegel) Kennedy of Portland, died July 1, 2020, age 87. Barbara was born in McBain, Michigan October 6, 1932, the only child of Augustus Charles Spiegel and Virginia Cecelia (Masselink).

Barbara spent her childhood in Tiffin, Ohio, where her father owned the Dodge Plymouth agency and her mother, who attended Julliard in New York City as an aspiring pianist, was a homemaker.

Barbara graduated from Denison University, majoring in business administration and psychology, and was President of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. There she met the love of her life and fellow student, J.H. Spike Kennedy.

After graduating, Barbara did market research for Procter & Gamble until they married on August 6, 1955 after Spike completed his first two years of medical school at Ohio State University.

They lived in Columbus and Newark where Barbara raised their family while Spike finished his residency and became a general practitioner.

They had four children: boy, girl, boy, girl. Barbara always said, “she planned it that way.”

Barbara and Spike moved to Portland in 1970, where Spike became Medical Director at the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon (RIO) of Good Samaritan Hospital. Always the good sport, Barbara took the momentous move in stride.

They rehabbed a rambling house, formerly the stables of the Wilcox Estate, into a beautiful home with extensive gardens.

She was President of the RIO Guild, helping raise thousands of dollars. One of the most successful fundraisers was Tahoe at Timberline.

She also hosted numerous RIO events at their home for the staff and patients.

They also enjoyed spending time at their beach house on the Oregon Coast and their cabin at Camp Sherman on the Metolius River.

Barbara is remembered for her beautiful smile, ready laugh and generous spirit. She loved being in her kitchen cooking for family and friends. Her grandchildren adore her Christmas cookies and chocolate birthday cake with homemade caramel frosting.

Barbara is survived by her beloved husband of 65 years, Dr. Spike Kennedy; children Hal Kennedy (Holly), Lori Kennedy (Reynold Schweickhardt), Sean Kennedy (Michael Hubbard), Tara Kennedy Barton (Bruce Barton); and seven grandchildren: John Kennedy (Amanda Moreland), Sarah Kennedy, Anne Kennedy, Campbell Schweickhardt, Katie Schweickhardt, Demaree Barton and Will Barton.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome for Pixie Project Portland, https://pixieproject.org; 510 NE Martin Luther King Blvd., Portland, OR, 97232 or Heifer International https://www.heifer.org/give; One World Avenue, Little Rock, AR, 72202.