Mary Alice Kennedy Landrum,

December 21, 2021

We mournfully announce the passing of Mary Alice Kennedy Landrum, 84, of Sarasota, FL, on December 21, 2021. Mary Alice was born on February 2, 1937 to Robert and Alice Kennedy in Orange, New Jersey. She obtained her degree at Newark State Teachers College, and she was active in the Junior Women’s Club of Arlington. She remained lifelong friends with several women she met through college and the women’s club. In 1967, she met the love of her life, Roy Glenn Landrum, on a trip to Scandinavia. Mary Alice and Roy wed in 1968, and established their home in West Jefferson, AL where they had three children, MaryAnn Landrum Grantham; Melissa Jane Landrum; and Roy Glenn Landrum Jr (deceased). Mary Alice made several more friends for life in West Jefferson, braving the cultural differences of a “Yankee” living in the South. Mary Alice enjoyed a long career as a kindergarten teacher, starting at Roosevelt School in Kearny, NJ before she was married. After getting married, she taught for a short time at Midfield Elementary School in Midfield, AL before taking a break to raise her children. After moving to Sarasota, FL in 1980, she resumed her teaching career in 1982 at Ashton Elementary School where she taught until her retirement in 2001. As a teacher, she was beloved and respected by students, parents, and colleagues, and she found more lifelong friends in her fellow teachers. Mary Alice was a fervent supporter of age-appropriate teaching and she never tired of talking with five-year-old children. Mary Alice was devoted to her Catholic faith. She was proud to have been a parishioner at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Harrison, NJ; St. Raphael Catholic Church in Graysville, AL; St. Patrick Catholic Church in Adamsville, AL; Incarnation Catholic Church in Sarasota, FL, where she was a member of the choir; and Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Lakewood Ranch, FL. Mary Alice was also a committed and steadfast wife and mother. She was fiercely protective of her family, engaged and attentive, and maintained a home life that combined learning and integrity with love and affection. She found ways to make both holidays and every day feel special and fun. Her greatest joys and memories centered on her family. Mary Alice was predeceased by her husband Roy Landrum; her infant son Roy Glenn Landrum Jr; her brother Robert Kennedy; her sister Margaret Kennedy Walsh; and grandson Ian Glasgow. She is survived by daughter MaryAnn Landrum Grantham and her husband Dan Grantham; daughter Melissa Landrum and her husband Mike Glasgow; grandchildren Matthew Grantham, Nathan Grantham, Clare Grantham, Emily Murphy, and Elizabeth Glasgow; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation hours will be held at Toale Brothers Funeral Home, 40 N Orange Ave in Sarasota, FL, on December 27, 4-6pm. A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Lakewood Ranch, FL on December 28 at 1pm. The family suggests sending memorial contributions to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Mary Alice led a life full of family, friends, faith, and laughter, and she will be dearly missed.