Photography by Dawn McKinstry
For years, families filled with Notre Dame students and alumni have come together and shaped their own blue and gold fan club, right in Haile Plantation.
Gator pride is expected in Gainesville. Residents live and breathe the spirit of the University of Florida, showing their support every step of the way. But in a special section of Haile Plantation, the orange and blue has to share the spotlight with a different set of colors.
The University of Notre Dame holds tight to the hearts of a close-knit community of families living in Gator Country. The Calabrese, Kennedy and Huber families – as well as several others – might cheer on those Gators, but at the end of the day, they truly bleed blue and gold.
Growing Up Irish
Notre Dame was everything these graduates wanted it to be. The experiences shaped who they have become, and the connections they made have lasted a lifetime.
Dr. Kate Huber, Notre Dame Class of ’81, said, “My husband likes to call it a fraternity for life.”
It’s an honest observation that’s certainly fitting. Huber and her close friend from Notre Dame, Jane Calabrese, still share a strong friendship and bring their families together in their own little piece of Haile Plantation.
Cheryl Kennedy, who graduated from Notre Dame’s all-girl sister school Saint Mary’s College in 1982 and who also is part of the blue-and-gold circle, said, “You really valued the education, but even more so, you valued the friendships.”
The graduates’ experiences within the Notre Dame community led them to prosperous careers and showed them what it meant to help people and serve the world for good.
Calabrese, Notre Dame Class of ’81, said, “I think both schools made us cognizant of ‘What’s your role in the community? Are you going to make a difference in the community?’ As opposed to just, ‘Get out. Get a medical degree, get a nursing degree and get a job.’ Are you going to make the world a better place?”
The Journey Home
Making the world a better place was exactly what the Calabrese, Kennedy and Huber families set out to do. In 1990, Jane and her husband, Dr. Peter Calabrese, came to Gainesville, a college town that gave them everything they were looking for in culture and comfort.
In 1991, the Kennedy family came next, making quick connections to the Calabrese’s. And in 1994, the Huber family completed the trifecta.
But while the families have loved their homes in Haile Plantation and the lives they’ve built here, the road to this point has had its share of obstacles.
For about 14 years, Kennedy’s husband, Kipp Kennedy, battled kidney cancer. Sadly, he lost his fight almost two years ago, but Kennedy said the experience doesn’t define her family.
“That is not the focus of the Kennedy family,” Jane said. “When you think of the Kennedy family, that is not the first thing that comes to mind.”
Because the fight carried on for so long, Kennedy said, she and her family were able to carry on through the experience and live their lives while her husband, a local doctor, was still with them.
“It never really changed him,” said Peter Calabrese, a close friend. “He had a sense of humor until the last day. He was a very funny guy.”
And through the struggle, the Kennedy family came out with an appreciation for the people who love them.
“In a way, it was a catalyst for maybe growing stronger,” Kennedy said, “in your relationship with your friends, your family, your religion.”
The friends were dealt another blow when Peter Calabrese was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For the past four years, he’s been in a wheelchair, which has forced him to retire and give up golf, a favorite pastime before his illness and part of what made Florida so attractive for building his family.
“But this hasn’t defined our family either,” he said. “It’s happened so gradually that the worse I become, the better I am at dealing with it.”
“It is what it is,” Jane said. “We’re a strong couple. We were strong before.”
The friends have had more than their share of obstacles, and still they stay positive and strong in their faith and friendships.
Their children also keep the Notre Dame tradition and close family ties alive, choosing confirmation sponsors and godparents from among the group adults and sharing old memories while building new ones.
Looking to the Future
The Calabrese, Kennedy and Huber children have largely decided to follow in their parents’ footsteps. They grew up together, attending Saint Patrick Interparish School in Gainesville as children, and spend their holidays together when they come home.
Matt and Abby Huber and Kathleen Kennedy currently are attending Notre Dame. Annie Kennedy — after attempting to rebel against the idea of falling for the school her mother loved so much but falling for it all the same — now attends Saint Mary’s. Joe Calabrese and Billy Kennedy chose to join the Gator Nation, and James Calabrese attends FSU.
John Huber is deciding between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt University. And the youngest of the bunch, eighth-grader Tommy Huber, has a long way to go, but it’s never too early to show the pride, be it orange and blue or gold and blue.
The possibilities are endless.