Mark Kennedy, Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice and Child Advocate, Passes Away

Mark Kennedy, a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice who founded an organization to prevent child abuse, has passed away. He was 72.

Kennedy died peacefully at his home in Montgomery on July 17, surrounded by his family, according to his obituary.

Born in Greenville, Kennedy was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 1988 and re-elected for a second term in 1994. From 2011 to 2013, he also served as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party.

Kennedy's experiences as a family court and juvenile court judge in Montgomery inspired him to become the founding chair of the Children’s Trust Fund in 1983. This pioneering organization was created to prevent child abuse and neglect.

“He was a child advocate before being a child advocate was cool,” remarked former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. “There is no way to quantify how many thousands of children and families have been positively impacted by Justice Kennedy’s vision to establish the Children’s Trust Fund.”

Cobb, who later helped establish another organization called Children First, noted that Kennedy recognized the need for more resources to assist the families in crisis he encountered in his courtroom, aiming to break the cycle of child abuse.

“A lot of judges think their job is just to go to a courtroom and make decisions,” Cobb explained. “Judge Kennedy understood the real role of judges, and that’s to be true problem solvers.

“Judges have a tremendous amount of insight about societal wrongs and issues because we see it in the courtroom day in and day out. And Judge Kennedy took that and has made an enormous difference in people’s lives.”

In addition to his work in child advocacy, Kennedy was instrumental in the redevelopment of downtown Montgomery over two decades ago, including the creation of the Riverwalk Stadium, home to the Montgomery Biscuits minor league team.

Kennedy is survived by his wife of 50 years, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of Alabama Governors George and Lurleen Wallace. He is also survived by his two sons, their wives, and several grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Monday at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, where Kennedy was an active member.