John Kennedy
June 22, 1947 — December 13, 2022
John Thomas Kennedy, 75, of Denver, Colorado passed away suddenly on December 13, 2022, at home.
Visitation was held on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 from 11am to 1pm at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80246.
John was born in 1947 in Denver, Colorado to John and Alta Kennedy. He married Carolyn Johnson on May 25, 1974, in Westminster, Colorado. Survivors include his wife, Carolyn; his sister Patricia (Robert) Cox; nephews Patrick (Donna) Persichitte, Donald (Sylvia) Persichitte, Brian (Terah) Persichitte.
Grandnephews: David and Luke Persichitte; Grandnieces: Luci, Lia, and Libby Persichitte. And cousins: DeeAnn (Wally) Plante and Wayne (Laura) Bernhardsen.
John was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved 20-year-old kitty "Pekoe". He will be missed by his many friends, family, and colleagues.
This is my tribute to the wonderful man I married.
I will always recall what a witty person John was. Always had a lighthearted comment to deliver about a controversial subject. Always saw the fun in life. He was so outgoing. He loved to meet new people and loved to talk to them to find out what they were all about. He loved life. Was never judgmental about his friends or people he met. Just saw the good in people. And he was a kind and sensitive man.He loved stand up teaching (in person) and made learning fun for the students (he called them his “kids"). Telling them about his life experiences which coincided with what he was teaching and made it easy for them to learn the subject. (I know because I sat in on some of his classes and he was wonderful; he made a hard subject easy to understand). And they liked him too. He got them to laugh at his comments which made for a relaxed atmosphere for them to learn the subject. And it thrilled him when the students "got it". He was so proud of them. He always spoke with his students, friends and others and never thought he was above them.
He was a very intelligent man. He graduated from Mapleton High School in 1965, attended the University of New Mexico, got drafted into the military and joined the Air Force in 1966 where he volunteered to go to Viet Nam, but was sent to Japan instead. There he met many of his friends to this day and still wrote to them and they traded jokes. Was honorably discharged in 1970. He went to Metro State College in 1970 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, magna cum laude, majoring in Philosophy and History in 1973. He got a scholarship to attend the University of Denver and received a Master of Arts Degree there in Philosophy in 1975. At that University he was under the teaching of noted scholar, Jere Surber, who has become a lifelong friend.
He took a break from college, and we went to Dublin, Ireland in 1977 fall semester where he attended Trinity College in Dublin and studied Philosophy under noted scholar, E. J. Furlong which he greatly enjoyed. While he was there, he also obtained citizenship in Ireland where his relatives are from. After returning from Dublin, John enrolled as a student in the Graduate Department of Philosophy at the University of Iowa. There he studied with the noted philosopher, Moltke Gram, whom he admired.
We then moved to a small town in Northwest Colorado where he worked for a lumber company and hardware store. Returned to Denver in 1987, the place of his birth and he loved being in Denver. He began teaching at Metro State and CCD in 2002 until his departure on December 13, 2022.
He had many great experiences in his work life including: being a cook at several restaurants, in sales at: a lumber company and hardware store as above, a sports store, and a high-end furniture store.
His fun accomplishments include: he won a trophy for most improved player on a fast pitch softball team, learned how to downhill and cross-country ski.
His most prized accomplishments: teaching college which he loved, and he was a great cook and an enthusiastic reader all of his life.
Acknowledgements have been made by his colleagues at MSUD Department of Philosophy. They have set up a scholarship fund in his memory: The John Kennedy Memorial Scholarship to help philosophy students further their academic careers at MSU Denver: You will find the link here to donate. msudenver.edu>philosophy
Please share memories of John and condolences with his family by signing the Guestbook below.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Visitation
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
11:00am - 1:00 pm (Mountain (no DST) time)
Horan & McConaty - Colorado Blvd.
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