1980
John and Betty Jennings
John and Betty Jennings moved to Lawrence from Wichita in 1980 when John started a new oil and gas exploration company focused on Northeastern Kansas. For Betty it was a homecoming, as she attended and graduated from the University of Kansas in the 1940s. She was originally from Downs, Kan. John was from Kansas City, Kan., and had planned to attend KU but World War II intervened and the Navy made other plans for him. He graduated from the University of South Carolina Naval R.O.T.C, and served in Hawaii, Okinawa, the Philippines and Japan before returning to Kansas in 1946. He was recalled for Navy service during the Korean conflict immediately after the couple married in Kansas City in 1950.
They had three children: Frank, Elizabeth and John Jr. The Jennings made their home in the old stone house at 646 Louisiana and quickly became involved with the Old West Lawrence (OWL) neighborhood. Betty decorated the historic house with period antiques and art by local artists. John was a founding member of the OWL-PAC, which participated in the successful “No Mall at All” campaign to save downtown Lawrence from a shopping mall development in the 1980s. John’s business, Jennings Drilling Company, was for years located at 721 Massachusetts. Betty was a member of Chapter HZ of the PEO Sisterhood, the Round Table Club, the KU Alumni Association, the Douglas Co. Historical Society and Lawrence Preservation Alliance. The Jennings were devoted parishioners of Trinity Episcopal Church, where Betty served on the Altar Guild and other committees. Both were frequently seen by neighbors in Old West Lawrence walking their little terrier Kippy. John died in 1999 and Betty died in 2005, but their spirit is still found in Old West Lawrence.
Step Sponsored By: Elizabeth Jennings and John Jennings Jr.