Haverhill\u2019s Acre neighborhood is just a few miles from the Northern Essex campus. It\u2019s a tight-knit community where, as children, John Opolski \u201984 and James (Jim) Kennedy roamed freely, surrounded by gaggles of friends and siblings.<\/p>\n
The pair became close as teens, bonding over a love of playing tennis, but lacking the free time to compete on the Haverhill High School team. Both had to work. So, they would fit in a match when they could, often playing on the courts located at NECC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t always play together, but we would keep track of our wins,\u201d remembered Opolski. \u201cAt the end of each season, whoever had the most wins would have to treat the other to dinner at the York Steak House at the Methuen Mall. To this day, we still reference the York Steak House.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their matches became even less frequent as they parted ways for college in 1977. Opolski enrolled in UMass Amherst where he got a degree in forestry. Kennedy traded Haverhill for Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he attended and graduated from Princeton University. He went on to earn his law degree from Boston University. After college, Opolski returned to Haverhill and started a landscaping business with his brother. Kennedy headed west and started his law career in California. Despite the distance, the two kept in touch; sometimes through phone calls and cards, sometimes through the network of family and friends from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to joke that Jim\u2019s mom liked me better than him! I would stop by her house, and she would want to know everything that was going on with me, and she would update me on what was going on with Jim if we hadn\u2019t spoken for a bit,\u201d said Opolski.<\/p>\n
Despite having success with landscaping and growing Christmas trees, after a couple of seasons Opolski started to think about pursuing a career with a steadier income. His mother, who worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), suggested nursing. He applied to NECC and quickly got accepted\u2014 perhaps a little too quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought \u2018oh my gosh, do I even want to do this?\u2019 I ended up getting a job as an orderly at a local hospital just to see if this were the kind of job I would want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nursing stuck and Opolski graduated from NECC in 1984. He would soon meet and marry a fellow Hillie and 1986 NECC nursing graduate Laureen. Jim Kennedy flew in from California to be the best man.<\/p>\n
Life fell into a predictable rhythm. John and Laureen had two children, and both settled into their nursing careers. Kennedy was finding success as a corporate attorney.<\/p>\n
In 1990, the pair\u2019s friendship would change and deepen in an unimaginable way.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn told me that he and Laury were expecting their third and fourth children- twins- but one wasn\u2019t likely to survive. Not too much later, my mother sent me the obituary from the Gazette,\u201d recalled Kennedy.<\/p>\n
Edward John Opolski had died at birth, but his twin brother, Connor, was healthy and doing well. The Opolskis asked Kennedy to be Connor\u2019s godfather. He eagerly agreed and flew back for the Christening just a couple months later. He and Opolski met up on the tennis court, intending to get a quick game or two in before going to the Opolski home to meet Connor. That meeting wouldn\u2019t happen. At home with Laury, Connor had suddenly stopped breathing. He was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be resuscitated. Little Connor passed away on October 8, 1990.<\/p>\n
The next few days were a blur. Eventually Kennedy returned to California, but his friends and their double tragedy remained prominent in his thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven 36 years later, it has stayed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
John and Laury Opolski went on to have two more children. Jim Kennedy became the godfather to their daughter Maggie and was a favorite among all the Opolski children and now grandchildren, in part because of his role as the Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Chief Legal Counsel with Pixar.<\/p>\n
In the last few years, as he prepared for retirement, Kennedy found himself once again thinking of that day in October 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone asked me if there was anything I hadn\u2019t done, any unfinished business. And John and Laury came to mind. I\u2019d funded a few scholarships before, and I wanted to create one in the memory of the twins,\u201d said Kennedy.<\/p>\n
With his generous donation and a match contribution from Pixar\u2019s parent company, Disney, Kennedy established The Edward J. and Connor J. Opolski Memorial Scholarship for nursing students at Northern Essex. He said he is grateful that he can honor his friends and their children by supporting students as they pursue such a meaningful profession.<\/p>\n
John Opolski continues to work as a hematology oncology nurse for Mass General Hospital, and Laury Opolski has worked for Merrimack Health (formerly Holy Family and Steward Health Care) for nearly 36 years. Kennedy has officially retired, but his old friend suspects that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019ll be slowing down.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim senses when people need something and he\u2019s there to step in. I know he would fly in overnight from San Francisco if I needed him,\u201d Opolski said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a part of my family for a long time, and he\u2019s never forgotten where he came from. He is truly one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":34678,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"issue":[769],"magazine-location":[661],"class_list":["post-34677","alumnecc","type-alumnecc","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issue-spring-2026","magazine-location-magazine-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n