Bill '48 and Nancy Kennedy
Bill Kennedy '48 Still Skiing in His 80s
Christ School alum retired from financial services industry in 2000
Every Christmas is a White Christmas for Bill Kennedy '48.
Kennedy retired from the financial services industry in 2000. He and his wife, Nancy, now divide their time between the hustle and bustle of Atlanta and the relative serenity of Beech Mountain, N.C. There, they own a seven-bedroom, three-story ski lodge. So whether the snow is natural or man-made, there is always some powder on the slopes for Kennedy, who has continued to ski into his 80s.
"If snow comes this next season up to our yard, I will try to get out on it again," vowed Kennedy, who missed last season as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon and knee replacement.
Bill and Nancy also use the ski lodge to dote on their 16 grandchildren.
"Many friends from all over the country have second homes here," Kennedy said. "We come to Beech Mountain mid-May through mid-October for hiking, biking, and golf. And then in mid-December to mid-March, we come to Beech Mountain for the ski season. Our three children and 16 grandchildren all come to be here. And then each family takes a long weekend in February. We really enjoy being there with all of them and getting to know our grandchildren's friends."
Kennedy was a Senior Prefect and co-captain of the football team in his final year at Christ School. His graduating class only had 22 boys. "We were all very close and we all worked to support each other," he recalls.
Kennedy attended Merrill Lynch training school for six months in New York before he and Nancy moved to Atlanta.
"I started dialing phone numbers, looking for clients and searching everywhere to meet prospects personally," Kennedy said. "The first several years moved very well, two children were born and we sold our first small house and moved to the fine Brookwood Hills neighborhood, buying a house from a senior Merrill Lynch executive who was building a new one."
Shortly after that, Kennedy closed a financing deal on a $136 million aluminum reduction plant in Kentucky. The finder's fee allowed he and Nancy to build their home in Beech Mountain.
Kennedy left Merrill Lynch in 1974 to join the INDATA software company, which was around when computers were still large and cumbersome. Kennedy worked with INDATA for 13 years before starting his own consulting firm, which was later run by Kennedy's son David.
