R. Scott Kennedy       December 9, 1948 - November 19, 2011

I  rejoice in life
for it's own sake. 

Life is no brief candle to me.  

It is a sort of splendid torch  

which I have got a hold of   

for the moment,  

and I want to make it burn   

as brightly  as possible

 before handing it on   

to future generations."

 - George Bernard Shaw

 

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R. Scott Kennedy

December 9, 1948 - November 19, 2011

 

Activist, educator, politician, great father and husband, Scott died in his sleep of natural causes on November 19, 2011, at age 62.  
    Scott was born in Nebraska in 1948, grew up in San Jose, California and went to public schools, including Willow Glen High School, where he met his soulmate and future wife, Kristin Champion. Scott attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, graduating with honors in the History Major and Cowell College honors. He was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and completed his alternative civilian service in Isla Vista, California, where he co-founded the Isla Vista Youth Project and several other community programs. He was a war tax resister from the Vietnam War until 2009.
    Scott co-founded the Resource Center for Nonviolence in 1976 and ran the Center's Middle East Program. He engaged with a wide range of social movements and nonviolent campaigns from creating nuclear free zones in Santa Cruz and working for a nuclear free future in Santa Cruz and at Diablo Canyon, to the Farmworkers' fight to unionize, and human rights struggles in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Scott was elected to three terms on the Santa Cruz City Council and served twice as mayor, where a resolution against the first Iraq war and completion of a city green belt, a community soccer field and several affordable housing developments, were some of his proudest accomplishments.
    Scott's involvement in struggles for a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began when he traveled to the region as a freshman in college in 1968 with his oldest sister Diane Kennedy Pike and her husband, the late bishop James Pike. Since then, Scott worked to support those Israelis and Palestinians  committed to waging nonviolent struggle to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. He led some 40 delegations to the region to help Americans understand U.S. foreign policy and support a just two-state solution.
    Scott enjoyed humor, travel and going to movies. He loved the San Francisco Giants, Van Morrison and country music, and his dog, Barack, adopted the week President Obama was elected.
    We are grateful for a world of friends, family, and companions who walked with Scott, and who continue to walk for freedom and justice through steadfast nonviolence and love.

- The Kennedy Family

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Quick Links 
 More About the RESOURCE CENTER FOR NONVIOLENCE: www.rcnv.org


 More about WI'AM: www.alaslah.org

Link to Scott Kennedy's Facebook page: Like us on Facebook

Link to Scott Kennedy Memorial EVENT Facebook page: Like us on Facebook

 Link to Resource Center for Nonviolence Facebook page: Like us on Facebook



Memorial Service

Sunday,  

December 11, 2011

2:00 PM

  

First Congregational United Church  

of Christ

900 High Street,   

Santa Cruz, California

95060 

  

Reception  

will follow  

at the church.

Email or call  

Carol Fuller, 831-423-2356  

if you are interested in bringing finger food for the reception.   

 

Lodging
for out of town guests in hotels and homes of friends can be arranged.
Please email

 

We would like to collect photos and videos of Scott, his work and life.
Video testimonials or photos may be emailed to
the Kennedys,
posted to this
or mailed to RCNV
(address below)

  

Memorial Contributions
(in lieu of flowers)
to continue Scott's peacebuilding work are appreciated. Donations will be split between the
Resource Center for Nonviolence,
New Profile,
an Israeli feminist anti-militarization movement, and
Wi'am- the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center,
which works within the Palestinian community for human equality
and basic rights.
Please indicate which organization you would like to support, if you have a preference.

  

Donate here via Paypal:
Donate to RCNV

  

or send Checks  

payable to "RCNV" 

Resource Center for Nonviolence

515 Broadway

Santa Cruz, CA 95060  

 

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