Following graduation, Kennedy served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, where he met his wife Karleen.

[5][6] He later entered the real estate business before his company acquired Alaska Airlines when it was nearly bankrupt in 1972.

[6] Kennedy retired in 1991 to undertake humanitarian work, and traveled to China to teach English and sheltered refugees in his house.

[4] Kennedy died in a private plane crash in central Washington, near Wenatchee, while arriving from Montana to visit his grandchildren.

[1][5] The NTSB accident report determined that a wing clipped a group of pine trees while low on approach; sun glare was a contributing factor as the airplane was heading due west late in the day in early summer.