Kennedy, Theresa C. (Haskins) (1927–2011)

Theresa Carolyn Kennedy was a renowned Adventist educator who led the Nursing Department at Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University) at both campuses–Orlando, Florida, and Collegedale, Tennessee, and chaired the Nursing Department at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. While she was at Union College, Dr. Kennedy worked alongside her husband in an effort to build the nursing and accreditation programs there.

Early Life

Theresa Carolyn Kennedy was born as Theresa Carolyn Haskins on November 10, 1927, in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Not much is known in regard to her early life; however, it is known that she grew up in the Tennessee area. In regard to secondary education, she graduated as a high school senior from Southern Junior College in 1944. According to her high school yearbook, Dr. Kennedy was involved in the modern language club, philharmonic music club, and the treble clef choir. Her hobbies included music, poems, and tennis. She was also on the honor roll–an achievement of "A" minus or "B" plus average–at Southern Junior College. Before higher education and obtaining her degrees, Dr. Kennedy was a professional classical pianist for a radio program broadcast from New York City.

Education and Marriage

Kennedy acquired extensive higher education. Initially, she received her bachelor of science in nursing (B.S.N.) degree from Columbia Union College (now called Washington Adventist University). She then went on to earn her master's of nursing (M.N) degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and then her Ph.D. in higher education from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

She married Dr. Kenneth Michael Kennedy (born March 27, 1914, in Marion, Indiana), who was a widower.¹ Like her, her husband had a rich career for the church.²

Career

Kennedy had many career and ministerial accomplishments. She was a nurse, nurse practitioner, and teacher. She was a professor of nursing at Belmont College, a nurse at many hospitals, and a head nurse at Florida Hospital, Orlando. She later became an associate professor of nursing and chaired the nursing departments at three Seventh-day Adventist colleges. First, she was an associate professor and chaired the nursing department at Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University) at both campuses–Orlando, Florida, and Collegedale, Tennessee–for 13 years, from 1966 to 1979. She then went on to chair the nursing department and teach at Union College, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, in June 1979. While she was at Union College, Dr. Kennedy worked alongside her husband in an effort to build the nursing and accreditation programs there. Dr. Kennedy represented the nursing department at the National League of Nursing Council of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs and helped the Union College Division of Nursing achieve an eight-year accreditation, as well as assisted in the process of having the program taken off probationary status, mandated by the Nebraska State Board of Nursing.³

After her time at Union College, she became supervisor of nursing at the State of Tennessee Prison Hospital. Later, Theresa Kennedy became the chairperson of the nursing department and associate nursing professor at Southwestern Adventist University, located in Keene, Texas, from the fall of 1987 to 1993. In 1988, during her time as head of the Southwestern Adventist University Nursing Department, the North Central Texas Chapter of the Association of Seventh-day Adventists (ASDAN) met and announced Theresa Kennedy as the editor of the ASDAN Forum, the national magazine for the organization.⁴

In regard to ministry, Kennedy served as a medical missionary–specifically as a nurse practitioner–in Nicaragua and other locations in Central and South America. The Central Union Reaper said, “She describes herself as ‘a strong Seventh-day Adventist Christian, and believes it is her duty to share God's love with those around her and to help other individuals to know the Lord as a personal friend.’”⁵

Later Life

Kennedy retired from Southwestern University in 1993, at the age of 66. She took her last breath 17 years later, at the age of 83, on July 16, 2011, at the home of her eldest daughter, Ronnie Pellington, in Collegedale, Tennessee. She is survived by her children, 15 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. The service took place at the Collegedale SDA Church, where she was a member, and Dr. Jack Blanco officiated. ⁶ She is buried at Collegedale Cemetery in Collegedale, Tennessee.⁷

Contribution

Dr. Theresa Kennedy impacted the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its mission in several facets. She helped improve and sustain the education of nursing at three different Seventh-day Adventist colleges. She also served as a missionary and overall dedicated her life to leading a Christ-centered life and spreading the message of the Seventh-day Adventist Church wherever she went. Her life also impacted society. Theresa Kennedy was a dedicated educator and helped impact numerous students and their subsequent career paths in healthcare. 

Sources

“Dr. Theresa.” Obituaries, Chattanooga Times Free Press, accessed February 14, 2023, https://www.timesfreepress.com/obituaries/2011/aug/14/dr-theresa-7ff6/.

“Kennedy, Dr. Kenneth Michael,” Obituaries, Southern Tidings, July 2003.

“Kennedy, Dr. Theresa C.,” obituaries. Southern Tidings, December 2011.

Leah, Sharon. “New Faculty Members Join Southwestern.” Southwestern Union Recorder, November 27, 1987.

“North Texas Nurses Meet.” Southwestern Union Recorder, December 9, 1988, accessed February 6, 2022, https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-393329/southwestern-union-record-december-9-1988?solr_.

“Nursing Program Receives 8-Year Accreditation.” The Mid-American Adventist Outlook, September 6, 1984.

“Theresa Kennedy Appointed Head of Nursing Department.” The Central Union Reaper, June 28, 1979. Accessed February 6, 2022. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/CUR/CUR19790628-V48-13.pdf.

Notes

1. Before her marriage to Kenneth Kennedy, she was married and had three daughters and a son. Her last name then was Wright (Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook [1970], 368). Kenneth’s first wife with whom he had four children, passed away in 1969. They had one daughter, Sue Ann Brown, and three sons, Howard, Jim, and Ken Kennedy.↩

2. He had been a minister in Alabama and Mississippi, where he grew up. He served as an educator in the Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 55 years. He was a professor and chair of Education at Southern Missionary College for over 20 years. He was also a member of the teaching staff at the University of Chattanooga and served on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He was voted Most Popular Teacher of the Century in 1995. He spent the last 35 years of his life in Hamilton County, Tennessee, and passed away on October 17, 2002, at the age of 88 (“Kennedy, Dr. Kenneth Michael,” Obituaries, Southern Tidings, July 2003, 33.)↩

3. “Nursing Program Receives 8-Year Accreditation.” The Mid-American Adventist Outlook, September 6, 1984, 16; Leah, Sharon. “New Faculty Members Join Southwestern.” Southwestern Union Recorder,

   November 27, 1987, 5.↩

4. “North Texas Nurses Meet.” Southwestern Union Recorder, December 9, 1988, accessed February 6, 2022, https://adventistdigitallibrary.org/adl-393329/southwestern-union-record-december-9-1988?solr_.↩

5. “Theresa Kennedy Appointed Head of Nursing Department,” The Central Union Reaper, June 28, 1979, accessed February 6, 2022, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/CUR/CUR19790628-V48-13.pdf.↩

6. “Dr. Theresa,” obituaries, Chattanooga Times Free Press, accessed February 14, 2023, https://www.timesfreepress.com/obituaries/2011/aug/14/dr-theresa-7ff6/.↩

7. Ibid. “Kennedy, Dr. Theresa C.,” Obituaries." Southern Tidings, December 2011, 31.↩