Submitted by: John C. Monk

Orison Kennedy "Red"

April 19, 1917 - Nov. 25, 2009
SOUTH BEND - Orison Glen "Red" Kennedy, 92, nationally known pharmaceutical executive, died on November 25, 2009, in South Bend, IN, after a long illness. He was born April 19, 1917, in Lost Creek, WV, to Charles E and Nora D. Kennedy. He grew up there, graduating from Lost Creek High School in 1935 as valedictorian of his senior class. In 1935 he entered Salem, College, Salem, WV, lettering for four years in basketball and baseball, and graduated in 1939 with a degree in Business Administration. At Salem, he met his wife-to-be, Betty Jane Ash of Clarksburg, a member of the class of 1940. She became a remedial reading specialist, and was the stabilizer of his life. They were married 60 years. Red taught and coached at the junior high and high school levels for three years before entering the Air Force, where he served three years during WW II. Upon discharge from the service, Red embarked on a business career that would see him begin as a salesman in 1946, and rise through the ranks from sales representative to national sales manager, and divisional general manager at Lehn and Fink Products Corporation in 1952. He completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1955. He Joined Miles Laboratories in 1958 as Vice President and Director of Planning, and entered one of the most creative and personally satisfying periods of his career. From Executive Vice President of Miles Products Division in 1960 to President of the division in 1965, he stressed the importance of growth through the development of new products and included the creation, in the early 60s, of the industry's first chewable vitamins for children, envisioned as a solution to his own children's difficulty swallowing conventional tablets. His career continued at Norwich Pharmacal Company as Executive Vice President in 1967, and as President in 1969, when Morton International and Norwich Pharmacal merged. Active trade association, he was elected in 1975 as Chairman of the Non-Prescription Drug Manufacturers Association. Red was active booster of his alma mater, Salem College. He became a member of the Board of Trustees in 1950, where he served for 25 years. During this time he served as Chairman of the Board for five years, 1963-1968, and was twice selected Alumnus of the Year. In 1987 he was awarded an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws. Kennedy was a lifelong member of the Lost Creek Seventh-day Baptist Church, and in his final years created the O.B. Bond Evangelism Ministry to help the denomination strengthen its churches. He is survived by a daughter, Katherine Kennedy of Vienna, VA; and a son, Orison G. Kennedy Jr. of South Bend, IN; and four grandchildren, Kristina Kennedy of Elkhart, IN, Karolyn Kennedy of South Bend, IN, Everett Kennedy of South Bend, IN, and Mary Elizabeth Herndon of Vienna, VA; and a sister, Mrs. Thelma Sleeth. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jane, and three brothers, Lloyd, Erlo and Ray. Services will be private. To send condolences, please visit www.mcgannhay.com.

Published in South Bend Tribune on December 2, 2009