On April 20, 2021, surrounded by his beloved wife, Karyn and son Aidan, John lost the courageous fight for his life. He battled with everything he had for 5 months in the Intensive Care Unit at Kingston General Hospital but ultimately his body could no longer go on. John was a “larger than life” kind of man; he loved his family and friends deeply and found pleasure in life in every way he could. John was a people person and made friends wherever he went. He loved living in our small town of Port Hope and knew everyone in our town and our neighbouring town of Cobourg, particularly those that frequented Turtle Johns and Kelly’s Homelike Inn. He was passionate about sports and in particular golf and especially enjoyed organizing betting pools by the self-proclaimed “Beamish Bookie”. He had nicknames for all of his friends including himself, whom he called “JFK”. He also enjoyed his involvement with the Northumberland Players and weekly bridge games. John had an incredible sense of humour and loved to make people laugh with his stories and (mostly bad) jokes. He enjoyed sitting “holding court” on the front porch of his home chatting with everyone that walked by. He knew all of the neighbours and kept them updated on the daily events on Baldwin Street.
John grew up in Toronto and later in Montreal and was raised by his much loved parents John (Jack) and Marguerite (Madge). He spent part of his adolescence living with his grandparents Walter and Jean and his Aunt Kate and had many funny stories from that period of his life. Throughout his life he maintained friendships that began as far back as grade two. He looked forward every year to the annual Willowdale Golf Tournament where he could catch up with friends he had known for more than 60 years.
In his younger days he worked as a struggling actor and over the years, regaled us with his stories of Robbie the Robot and other characters he had played. He spent more than 25 years working in Corrections, mostly with youth where he was known for his kindness, fairness and compassion.
Most of all, John loved his family. He was happiest when spending time with Karyn, travelling, having friends over for dinner or just sitting by the fire in the backyard with the dogs Iggy and Mookie nearby. He was a loving father and was extremely proud of his son Aidan. John never missed one of Aidan’s hockey games growing up and often helped coach his team. John was thrilled to see Aidan’s career as a video producer thrive and was always willing to fill whatever acting role was needed. He was extremely happy when Aidan met Bailey Stocker and was excited to see their relationship grow as they became engaged and bought their first house. While he will not be physically present at their wedding, John loved Bailey as a daughter and will be there in spirit to celebrate their marriage later this year.
John will be missed more than he will ever know by Karyn, Aidan and Bailey. He will be remembered with love by his sister Ronnie (Bob), brothers Michael (Jane) and the late Stephen (Sharon)and his sisters-in-law Cathy, Kim and Colleen and brother-in-law Steve, his nieces and nephews Anne (Hayden), Siobhan (Jon), Ted (Karen), Jenny (Glenn), Brock (Lisa), Kathleen, Sarah, Emma, Matthew (Brody), Brodie (Justice), Axel (Alison), Ben and Liam and his great nephews Kenya and TJ.
No service is being held at this time however a celebration of John’s life will be announced at a later date.
If desired, memorial donations to www.griefstories.org would be appreciated.
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Tuesday April 20th 2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de John Kennedy Tuesday April 20th 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:Port-Hope, Province: Ontario