Wilsonville woman looks out for her neighbors

(WILSONVILLE) — If you see flower baskets in the front yards of Wilsonville’s Fox Chase neighborhood, they may have come from resident Kathy Kennedy.

Kennedy is known for watching over the neighborhood in various ways, from tending to people’s gardens to keeping an eye on a home while someone is out of town. She said being helpful is part of her nature.

“I try to make people feel special,” Kennedy said in a text. “I believe my gift is a gift of being thoughtful.”

Doing yard work for her neighbors is common for Kennedy, so much so that she said one neighbor wasn’t sure which house she actually lives in. Some of Kennedy’s neighbors are elderly or have health challenges that make tending their yard difficult, so Kennedy is glad to help.

One of Kennedy’s favorite things to do each year is give her neighbors dahlia flowers. Her husband grows the flowers, and she saves glass jars throughout the year. Once the dahlias bloom, she makes bouquets to distribute to her neighbors.

Since leaving the workforce, Kennedy has spent more time helping her neighbors. She retired from a telecommunications career in 2019 to help care for her parents, who both died since then. She said she recently spent four hours mowing a neighbor’s lawn, which she would not have had the bandwidth to do while working.

Kennedy’s inspiration to help her community comes partly from her religion, she said, but also from her love of people and her neighborhood.

“We have such a great neighborhood,” Kennedy said. “We watch out for each other.”

Long-time Fox Chase resident Steve Weigel said he’d seen Kennedy out late at night and early in the morning watering neighbors’ yards, and many of the plants in his yard came from her. He has lived in the neighborhood since 1983 and said Kennedy and her husband have been in the neighborhood nearly as long.

“She’s overseen everything that’s gone on in this neighborhood since then,” Weigel said. “(She and her husband are) just wonderful people that have looked out for neighbors in need.”

As an example, Weigel said Kennedy recently took meals to a couple in the neighborhood who both recently had knee surgery and helped with the couple's yard work and other needs. He said Kennedy had done similar acts for countless neighbors.

For him, Weigel said Kennedy does not need to be asked to watch his house while he and his wife are out of town. Weigel’s wife, Teresa, is a flight attendant, and the couple travels often. When they are traveling, Weigel said Kennedy will watch the house for packages and any suspicious activity while also watering plants.

Teresa added that Kennedy is a good role model for kids in the neighborhood.

Kennedy said she does not plan to slow her efforts anytime soon. “I just care about our neighbors and our neighborhood,” Kennedy said. “And I want to make our neighborhood a better place and a safe place.”