Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy

Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (née Groefsema; August 4, 1923 – May 12, 2014) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Education and career

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Kennedy graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945 and at the top of her class from the University of Michigan Law School with a Juris Doctor in 1947. After law school, she clerked for Chief Judge Harold Montelle Stephens of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where she was one of the first women to clerk on that court. In 1965 Kennedy ran for Wayne County Circuit Court judge and lost by fewer than 100 votes. She assumed senior status on March 1, 1999, serving in that status until her death.

Personal life

Groefsema married Charles Stuart Kennedy, Jr. They had one son, Charles Stuart Kennedy III (born November 8, 1962). Kennedy died at age 90 on May 12, 2014.