since 1947. Although Lewis favored Boyle as his successor, Kennedy was well liked and well known. Kennedy was in failing health, however, and Boyle took over many of the president's duties. In November 1962, Kennedy became too frail and ill to continue his duties. Boyle was named acting-president. Kennedy died on January 19, 1963. Boyle was elected president shortly thereafter, obviously Lewis's handpicked choice. From the beginning of his tenure, Boyle faced significant opposition from rank-and-file miners and UMWA leaders. Miners' attitudes about their union had changed. Miners wanted greater democracy and more local autonomy for their local unions. There was a widespread belief that Boyle was more concerned with protecting mine owners' interests than those of his members. Grievances filed by the union often took months—sometimes years—to resolve, lending credence to the critics' claim. Wildcat strikes occurred as local unions, despairing of UMWA assistance, sought to resolve local disputes with walkouts. Yablonski challenge and murder In 1969, Joseph "Jock" Yablonski challenged Boyle for the presidency of UMWA. Yablonski had been president of UMWA District 5 (an appointed position) until Boyle had removed him in 1965. In an election widely seen as corrupt, Boyle defeated Yablonski in the election held on December 9 by a margin of nearly two-to-one (80,577 to 46,073). Although Boyle won, the election was the first time since 1920 that the incumbents had less than 80 percent or more of the vote, or that there was any opposition at all. Observers expected the union to make changes in response to the growing insurgency movement and demands for change. Yablonski conceded the election, but on December 18, 1969, asked the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate the election for fraud. He also initiated five lawsuits against UMWA in federal court. On December 31, 1969, three killers shot Yablonski, his wife, Margaret, and his 25-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they slept in the Yablonski home in Clarksville, Pennsylvania. The bodies were discovered on January 5, 1970, by Yablonski's eldest son, Kenneth. Boyle was found to have ordered Yablonski's death months earlier, on June 23, 1969, after a meeting with his opponent at UMWA headquarters had degenerated into a screaming match. In September 1969, UMWA executive council member Albert Pass received $20,000 from Boyle (who had embezzled the money from union funds) to hire assassins to kill Yablonski. Paul Gilly, an out-of-work house painter and son-in-law of a