[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ALLISON KENNEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 23, 2023

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month we lost a treasured 
consumer, public health and safety advocate. Allison Kennedy passed 
away on May 10, 2023, after recently suffering a brain aneurysm. She 
was 36 years old.
  Allison Kennedy served as the Director of Government Relations for 
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates). She was well known 
and well respected on Capitol Hill as an ardent and trusted champion 
for safe roads, safe vehicles and safe road users. During her more than 
ten years with Advocates, she cultivated a safety legacy that will 
continue to prevent crashes and save lives for generations to come.
  Allison's untimely passing is a monumental personal and professional 
loss for the Advocates' team and for all those who work closely with 
the organization, myself included. She will be remembered as a 
dedicated public health and safety activist, wonderful colleague, 
caring friend, cherished daughter, devoted wife and dedicated mother.
  I include in the Record the following obituary and I send my 
condolences to her husband, Brian, their two young sons, Christopher 
``Kit'' and Callahan ``Cal,'' her parents, Erin and Michael, her entire 
family, and all her loved ones.

       Allison Elizabeth Kennedy of Burke, Virginia passed to her 
     eternal reward on May 10, 2023, after a brain aneurysm at 36 
     years old. A devoted mother, beloved wife, and cherished 
     daughter, Allison was full of life and love.
       Allison was born in Visalia, California on February 16, 
     1987, to her loving mother, Erin, and adoring father, 
     Michael. At three years old, she moved back to her family's 
     hometown of Vancouver, Washington, where she grew up. 
     However, she frequently liked to remind her husband that she 
     too was a Californian.
       Although Allison was an only child, she grew up surrounded 
     and supported by her large and loving extended family in 
     Washington, anchored by her Nana and major role model Nita 
     King. Allison had loving uncles and doting aunts.
       Life for Allison revolved around her family. She loved her 
     grandfather, Jim. beyond words. She especially loved the 
     precious time she spent with her father outdoors or working 
     on household projects together, even FaceTiming her dad 3000 
     miles away to help her put a table together. She loved 
     traveling with her family, including to the off-road races in 
     Baja, especially with her Uncle David.
       She excelled in her studies, cheerleading, and mock trial 
     during high school. Her friends Emily Young, Liana Richey, 
     Jessie Cook, and many others made her teens, college years, 
     and early twenties a time of great joy.
       She attended Washington State University, graduating in 
     2010. She received her master's degree from American 
     University in Washington, D.C. in 2014.
       After starting her graduate studies at Washington State 
     University, she began a three-month internship in Washington, 
     D.C. Within weeks of moving to D.C., she fell in love with 
     the city, the politics, and a man named Brian. Their love 
     started on their first date as they sat talking in her 
     apartment until three in the morning.
       Allison quickly decided to stay and was hired as a lobbyist 
     for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, where she helped 
     promote safer transportation policies. Under the leadership 
     of her professional mentors, Cathy Chase and Jackie Gillian, 
     Allison grew into a fierce and successful advocate whose work 
     led to the adoption of critical safety-minded policies, 
     including many of the key safety provisions of the 2021 
     Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. For generations to 
     come, Allison's legacy will be measured in the countless 
     lives of children, teen drivers, pedestrians, and motorists 
     that her work helped to save. She loved and was adored by all 
     her colleagues at Advocates.
       Throughout her time in Washington, D.C., Allison was also 
     drawn deeper into her Roman Catholic faith. She tells a story 
     of running on the National Mall and receiving a call to 
     return to the Church. She was confirmed and faithfully 
     adhered to her faith. She became engaged in church activities 
     including working at the Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center, 
     where she helped to lead couples through their preparation 
     for the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. In Washington, D.C., she 
     established lifelong friendships, especially with Sondra 
     Gribbin, Courtney Daniel, Addie Horton Kahrs, and countless 
     others. Allison was always the first to volunteer to 
     coordinate events and had the ability to make anyone feel 
     like an old friend, even upon their first meeting.
       Allison and Brian were engaged in December 2014 and married 
     in November 2015. They first lived in Northeast Washington, 
     D.C., then moved to Maryland in 2019, and finally found their 
     dream home in Burke, VA in 2022.
       Allison longed to be a mother, Allison and Brian tried for 
     nearly five years. In 2021, they received the gift of 
     Christopher ``Kit'' Colm, through adoption, who blessed their 
     home with the fullness of love and joy. Allison thrived as a 
     mother. In every way, she knew how to care for Kit and help 
     him blossom. In 2022, Brian and Allison found out they were 
     pregnant. Callahan ``Cal'' was welcomed into the world in 
     January 2023. The final months of Allison's life were filled 
     with happiness and contentment as she thrived as a mother of 
     two.
       She once told Brian, ``I always want things on Allison's 
     time and Allison's way, but God always shows me that His ways 
     are better. He knew we couldn't have Cal until we first had 
     Kit.'' We pray that we may understand God's ways someday.
       Allison and Brian loved each other far better than the 
     storybook way. Because their devotion manifested in the real 
     act of love: caring for each other and living to be one 
     another's support. Disagreements and challenges and just 
     laying around in your pajamas are what makes life real and 
     worth living. Allison and Brian weren't perfect, but they 
     tried to love each other perfectly. Her devotion was manifest 
     every day to Brian.
       Allison is survived by her loving husband, Brian, her sons 
     Christopher and Callahan; mother, Erin; father, Michael and 
     his partner Barbara; her mother-in-law, Diane; father-in-law. 
     Kevin; her grandmother Nita; grandfather Skip; her sister-in-
     law Michelle; her brother-in-law Sean and his wife Ashley; 
     her aunt, Mary, her uncles: Lynn, Rick, Scott, Jimmy, Jeff, 
     Sean and dozens of cousins and thousands of friends.
       She is preceded in death by her grandfathers: Jim, Martin, 
     and Les and her grandmothers Marvonne and Ruth, and her uncle 
     David.
       A Visitation will be held on May 22, 2023, from 3:00-6:00 
     PM at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home at 9902 Braddock Rd., 
     Fairfax, VA 22032. The Funeral Mass and Reception will be 
     held on May 23, 2023, at 10:30 AM at St. Mary of Sorrows 
     Catholic Church at 5222 Sideburn Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032. A 
     Celebration of Life for Allison will take place in the coming 
     months, details forthcoming.

                          ____________________