Larry Kennedy
Yearbook Photo
Larry Today
After Vance AFB, I went to Communications Maintenance School at Keesler AFB in Biloxi Mississippi, and from there was assigned to Pease AFB, NH. My next move was to Vahdati AFB (presently called Dezful Airport) in Iran, as an advisor to the Iranian Air Force, when the Shah was still in power. That was a great experience of a very unique team environment, where everyone from the lowest ranking member to the commanding officer lived, ate and slept in one team house. Following that assignment, I left the Air Force and went to Boston University to obtain a Masters in Applied Mechanics. That led me to Palo Alto, California, and an engineering position with Ford Aerospace, which was later purchased by Loral Space and Communications. Thirty-three years later, I am still with the company as a Program Manager, in the division now known as Space Systems Loral, where we build primarily communications satellites. I also met my wonderful wife Susan in California. We’ve had 32 super years together and look forward to many more. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to spend eight years of that time in Cannes, France, where I served as a team leader in a cooperative effort to build satellites on both sides of “The Pond.” We really enjoyed our time there, and were somewhat disappointed to see it end. We have two beautiful children who were also able to share that experience with us. Our daughter is now working toward her Masters degree as a Child Life Specialist, with the goal of working with gravely ill children with special needs (and their families) in the hospital setting. She really has a heart for these children, and an ability to connect with them, so we’re happy to see her on that track. Our son is entering graduate school in Neuropsychology this fall, with a desire to teach and do research in the field. Although we’ve been living in Modesto, CA, since returning from France, we’re on the verge of migrating back to the Bay area, so we’ll have to give you an update on our whereabouts when that’s all been settled.