Richard Kennedy has lamps in his blood.

For the majority of his life, Kennedy has made lamps, fixed lamps and sold lamps. He even married a fellow lamp store owner. But Kennedy, 66, has turned off the light of his near life-long relationship with lamps this week.

Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Lamps and Shade, closed his doors for the last time Thursday. Having spent the last 42 years building his store, Kennedy is on his way to retirement. He foresees a future Hawaiian vacation, and maybe a trip with his brother and some buddies on their Harley Davidsons.

What he didn’t predict was the trouble he’d have walking away from the one-man operation that had him working six days a week for much of his life.

“I didn’t think I’d be sentimental about all this at all, but I’m getting that way a little bit,” he said. “I don’t know where the last 42 and a half years went.”

Since 1969, Kennedy has been a pillar of Bellevue’s luminary community. Through three locations, and endless changes in the business, Kennedy’s has remained a top spot for lamp aficionados in Bellevue. Kennedy has remained a fixture despite the presence of big box retailers such as Home Depot in Bellevue.

“They send me customers,” he said. “If I go to Home Depot in the lighting department, they ask for my cards because they need some place to send people for repairs and other things they don’t do.”

Kennedy’s did it all for his desire to please the customers. Regulars speak of him with reverence, and Kennedy credits customers for stoking his creative flame. They bring him any number of objects to build lamps from, including a parking meter, sowing machine, and fire extinguisher.

Even before venturing out on his own, where he became known for his aurora artistry, Kennedy was steeped in the lamp business. His first job after moving to Seattle from Oak Harbor at the age of 19 was a part time gig at Hansen Lamps and Shades. After returning from service in the Naval Reserve, Kennedy went back to Hansen. He became forever wedded to the local lamp scene when he married a woman named Nancy, the niece of Hansen’s owner, and herself an owner of Harold’s Lighting, a store in Wallingford.

With Kennedy’s retirement, this circle of lamps will complete itself. Kennedy said Harold’s bought out the building and will open a store in the 106th Avenue Northeast location in January.

Kennedy said business has been booming since people found out about his retirement.

Kay Grosse has come to Kennedy’s for more than a decade. A resident of Issaquah, Grosse said it’s more than worth the trip to bring her lamps to Kennedy. Only two days from Kennedy’s retirement, Grosse came to the store to pick up a table lamp that sits by the Christmas tree every year.

Lamps, as givers of light, play a big role in their home, and Grosse would much rather see the same fixture each year, even if it needs the odd repair job.

“We live in such a disposable society, and we really like to buy quality products and have them repaired,” she said. “This entity will be missed.”