Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Percifer B. Jr. KENNEDY
Persifer B. Kennedy, Jr., 73, formerly of Villanova, a charismatic, self- taught architect who designed and built million-dollar houses on the Main Line, died Saturday at Zerbe Sisters Nursing Center in Narvon, Lancaster County.
"He was more or less self-taught," said his daughter, Carol Lux. "He mastered everything he tried easily and well." But he did once take a correspondence course in architecture, she recalled.
"He was very innovative," she said. "He built houses that would stand for 200 years. He didn't skimp on things. He built a house that he would live in himself."
Known as Perc (pronounced Pers), Kennedy designed and built scores of houses in Wayne, Gladwyne, Radnor and other communities along the Main Line.
Along the way, Mr. Kennedy, a handsome, fun-loving man with bright green eyes, an infectious enthusiasm for his craft and the ability to mesmerize women, left an adoring client list that considered him a Renaissance man and a genius.
"He was charming and handsome and a good salesman," said Marilyn Gushner, whose home he built years ago. "He instilled confidence in you. He did beautiful things; he will be immortal out here.
"In our own house, he took a piece of hilly and woodsy land and he built a beautiful house that looked like it grew here. There's no wasted space."
For Hannah Lavine, Mr. Kennedy transformed a tumbledown grist mill, with only three walls standing, into a wonderful place to live. "Out of something that was only a box, he created an open and airy space," she said.
He loved nature and was interested in topography, Lavine said, and some of his houses changed as he built them to take advantage of the site. He used natural materials - tile, stone, wood, glass - and opened things up with skylights and window wells.
When Mr. Kennedy took charge of a job, he took over the whole job. He placed the roads and sewer lines, designed the house, its cabinets, stairways and doors, determined the materials to be used, placed the shrubs and mixed the paint to be just the right color. He supervised the construction from start to finish.
He was meticulous.
He was said to know more about plumbing than plumbers, more about electricity than electricians and more about carpentry than carpenters.
"He could hang wallpaper, install carpeting and hang draperies," said Patricia Crane, an interior designer. "He didn't like to have anybody do things for him, because he could do it better."
"He even knew the names of the birds," Gushner said.
If he had a fault, it was that everything had to be done his way and no other, said Thomas Guy, a contractor who learned to be a builder by working with Mr. Kennedy for eight years.
"There was no way he would accept another's design or solution or alternative," Guy said. "It always had to be done his way."
Once, when building a redwood greenhouse, he rejected the use of ready-made
plans others had developed. Instead, he designed as he went along, then had to redo the job about three times when it kept leaking.
But, Guy said, Mr. Kennedy was "the most talented person I have ever known for being able to visualize space." He was able to find interesting solutions to design problems another person might pore over for days."
He is recognized for reintroducing to the Main Line French country-style houses, and the distinctive putty-colored walls or shutters marked the house as his. Although no one knew how many houses Mr. Kennedy designed, his daughter said blueprints for 85 homes were found in his home in Villanova after he suffered a stroke about a year ago.
Mr. Kennedy was born in Philadelphia and lived in Reading for a time as a teenager. He worked as a precision grinder at Autocar in Ardmore before joining the Army Signal Corps during World War II.
Afterward, he got a job as an interior decorator in Ardmore, but was an employee only for a couple of years before he established his own interior decorating business, his daughter, Carol Lux, said.
He developed an interest in antiques, which he used in the decorating business, and he also began designing additions for clients who needed more living space, Lux said. From there, he took to designing houses.
Mr. Kennedy was a member of the Bala Country Club and the Main Line Builders Association.
He is survived by two daughters, Janice Kennedy Salvino and Carol Kennedy
Lux; his mother, Elizabeth Dunlap Kennedy; five grandchildren; three great- grandchildren, and a sister.
Graveside services will be held at noon tomorrow at Philadelphia Memorial Park, Phoenixville Pike, Frazer.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020