Dr. Thomas E. Kennedy passed away in Anchorage, Alaska, from kidney failure on May 24, 2025.

Born in San Francisco on Nov. 27, 1947, and raised in Hollywood, California, Tom graduated from high school there before attending the University of Southern California.

He earned his medical degree from USC’s Keck School of Medicine and went on to become board-certified in Internal Medicine in 1976 and in psychiatry and neurology in 1988.

From 1980 to 1991, Dr. Kennedy practiced in Downey, California. In 1992, he relocated to Santa Barbara, where he dedicated himself to private practice, focusing on primary care internal medicine and general neurology.

Known for treating the whole person rather than just the illness, Tom placed a unique emphasis on nutrition and vitamin health, an approach that distinguished him among his peers.

In 2008, he stepped away from his practice to pursue travel and guest lecturing. By 2011, he had begun work as a Locum Tenens physician, and in 2013 he moved to Anchorage to serve at the Alaska Neurology Center, where he remained until his retirement in December 2019.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents Dr. Robert A. Kennedy and Alice L. Kennedy. He is survived by his cousins Julie Ayres (Roger), John Russell (Ann), G. Wever (Carolyn), and Mary Thiele.

A private burial will take place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.