Robert E. Kennedy, 70, an assistant vice president at Pullman Bank who helped introduce the first bank charge card in the state, died of a massive heart attack Sunday, June 2, in his Plantation, Fla., home. Before there was Visa and MasterCard, there was the “Illinois Bankcharge.” When the Pullman Banking Group first introduced the service in 1966, Mr. Kennedy helped coordinate nationwide distribution. “He was the one who introduced the first bank charge card in the state of Illinois,” said Alfred O’Malley, a former colleague and current board chairman at Standard Bank and Trust Co., where Mr. Kennedy served as president for a number of years. “This was the evolution of bank charge cards.” Born in Chicago Heights, Mr. Kennedy was raised in Roseland and graduated in 1949 from St. Willibrord High School. He took a job at Pullman Bank as a teller but was drafted into the Army in 1952. He served as an office typist in Germany during the Korean War and returned to Chicago after his discharge in 1954. Mr. Kennedy worked as a teller at Pullman while taking night classes at Northwestern University and the American Institute of Banking. He was elected bank vice president in 1968 and eventually went to work at Standard Bank, where he was president. Survivors include his wife, Shirlee; two sons, Kevin and Robert; a daughter, Judith Hall; and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. June 18 in Infant Jesus of Prague Catholic Church, 1131 Douglas Ave., Flossmoor.
