Wetherly Frazier Kennedy
Wetherly Frazier Kennedy, a proud teacher, soccer mom, trap shooting champion, wood-working hobbyist and lover of hydrangeas, died Saturday in a local hospital after a brief illness. She was 54 years old.
She was the wife of long-time Chattanooga Times Free-Press columnist, Mark Kennedy, who proposed marriage to her in his Life Stories column in 1995 while she was a teacher at the former 21st Century Academy in Brained. She said “yes” to the marriage proposal in a stairwell at the school. Over the years, the family’s everyday lives were fodder for Mark Kennedy’s column.
During her nearly 30-year career as a Hamilton County Schools educator, she worked at several local elementary schools including Battle Academy on Market Street and Thrasher and Nolan elementary schools on Signal Mountain. At the time of her death she was employed as a reading coach at Orchard Knob Elementary on Third Street.
She is survived by her husband, Mark, and her adult sons, Keeling Kennedy and Brooks Kennedy. She is also survived by her mother, Gladys Solomon, of Morristown, Tn.; step-mother, Anne Koella Frazier, of White Pine, Tn.; and five step siblings: Jon Koella, Lewis "Bummi" Koella, Jenny Koella, Julie Koella and Will Koella.
She attended White Oak United Methodist Church in Red Bank, Tn., where she was active in church missions. Earlier this year she traveled to Kenya, along with her son Brooks, to volunteer at a school for orphans. She was planning a return trip there at the time of her death.
A few weeks before her death, she spent several days pressure washing the exterior of Orchard Knob Elementary, so it would “look nice for the children” when they returned to school, she said.
She was a graduate of Jefferson County (Tenn.) High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in elementary education.
A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. at White Oak United Methodist Church, at 2232 Lyndon Ave. in Red Bank, with a reception at the church to follow.
In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family requests donations be made to the Gateway to Victory Learning Center in Kenya. Check donations for the school can be made out to White Oak United Methodist Church (with Gateway to Victory in the “for” line) and mailed to the church, or registered online at gatewayvictory.org.
Arrangements are entrusted to Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services Franklin -Strickland Chapel, 1724 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, Tn. 37404, 423 265-4414. Please visit our website to share your memories: www.advantagefranklin-strickland.com.