Marianne Kennedy

Marianne Kennedy of Shaftsbury, Vermont passed away on September 18, 2016, at her home, surrounded by family, friends and her beloved golden retriever Maggie.Marianne was born to William and Elizabeth Kennedy in the Bronx, New York. She attended St Helena's Catholic School in the Bronx. She began her professional career at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, assisting doctors on important research.In the mid 1970s, Marianne and her first husband, Robert Cutler, moved from the Upper West Side of New York City to a 103-acre mountain parcel in Sandgate, Vermont, where they built and engineered a round house by hand. She gave birth to her only child, David, in 1979. Marianne received her law degree from Vermont Law School in 1986, an achievement made more exceptional by raising her son as single mother. She practiced law with the firm of Joseph O'Dea, opened her own private practice, and formed the law firm of Windburn, Kennedy & Ameden, primarily focusing on family law. Beginning in the 1990s, she devoted herself to non-profits and public agencies, serving as a consultant, a health policy analyst and expert in restorative justice. She was Executive Director of the Bennington County Court Diversion Program, and Executive Director for the Rutland Women's Network and Shelter, and was tapped to work for the Administration of Governor James Douglas, on his Long Term Care & Medicaid Program. Her work there led to her role in the formation of the Battenkill Valley Health Center in Arlington, Vermont. She returned to law again, joining the Rutland, VT firm Kenlan Schwiebert in 2006. She taught and lectured at area colleges, and provided testimony regularly before the Vermont State Legislature. She received the Vermont Bar Association Pro Bono Award for providing distinguished legal services to under-privileged citizens of Vermont.In April of 1987 she met and married Shane Sweet of East Arlington, Vermont. The inseparable couple found common love for dogs, nature and home renovations as they moved often to accommodate their ambitious careers. Marianne was known for her gregarious nature, her Bronx street-smarts, and her passion for life. She made a strong impression on nearly everyone she met. She will be missed by her many friends, who fondly recall her gift for telling fantastic stories from her life: hiding razor blades in her hair; nailing herself to a roof overnight when her ladder fell; outrunning a bear down the road near her house; and many more.She is survived by her husband, Shane Sweet; her dog Maggie; her son, David Kennedy Cutler and his wife, Mellissa Huber of Brooklyn, NY; and her sister-in-law, Mary Jane Kennedy, of Rowayton, CT.All are invited to a Celebration of Life for Marianne at the Neartu Pond, 455 Highland Avenue, Manchester at 4:30pm, Saturday September 24, 2016 followed by refreshments at Seamus O'Dowden's Public House. Interment will take place at Dellwood Cemetery Saturday September 24, 2016 at 9am. If friends desire, memorial gifts in Marianne's memory may be sent to Guiding Eyes For The Blind, c/o Hanson-Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home P.O. Box 957 Bennington, VT 05201. All are invited to a Celebration of Life for Marianne at the Neartu Pond, 455 Highland Avenue, Manchester at 4:30pm, Saturday September 24, 2016 followed by refreshments at Seamus O'Dowden's Public House. Interment will take place at Dellwood Cemetery Saturday September 24, 2016 at 9am.