Mr. Arthur Edward Kennedy

Dad was at last rewarded and rejoined his dearly beloved Margot (Emond) in Heaven after his passing at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre at dawn on 11 September 2017 at the age of 92. He is greatly missed by his children, Seán Michael (Kathleen), Siobán Mary (Linda), grandchildren Tara Caitlín and Sína Marie, and the many ham radio (his call sign was VA3 AEK) and other friends he had around the world. Dad was born in Mount Forest, Ontario on 20 November 1924, and was the last survivor of 5 siblings (Mary, William, George and Audrey) born to John and Marion Kennedy. He grew up in Stratford and joined the RCAF in 1942. After pilot training in New Brunswick and Trenton he went to navigation school, where he graduated top of his class, and then was posted to England in 1943 and was assigned as navigator and bombardier on the Canadian-built bomber version of the De Havilland Mosquito. Lucky for us he survived his many harrowing sorties with 162 Squadron over Germany. This certain, youthful trauma formed the man. Demobbed in 1946, F/O Kennedy returned to Stratford and attended the University of Western Ontario, commuting on his Triumph motorcycle, where he took one of the few baccalaureates in radio physics ever granted by the University. He rejoined the RCAF in 1950, married Mary (Volden) in 1952, had Seán while stationed in Winnipeg in 1954, and Siobán in 1959 while in Montreal. The family moved to Ottawa in 1960, but Dad returned to Montreal in 1962 to join Canadian Marconi and begin his long civilian career in avionics. Throughout he piloted or navigated many RCAF aircraft, particularly the Beechcraft Expeditor and the De Havilland Beaver, and loved flying his own Cessna and Mooney planes. He remained in the RCAF reserve until 1971, retiring as Major. While in Montreal Dad took up sailing in a Flying Junior with such zeal that he joined other enthusiasts and co-founded the Ile Parrot Yacht Club in 1966. There Dad and we thrilled racing his FJ and Cal 25 on Lac Saint-Louis, often while shouting Shakespeare into the wind. One summer we all sailed up the Ottawa River, but his fondest memories were the many sails we took to Oka Beach on Lake of Two Mountains, skiing at Monts Habitant and Tremblant, and the season’s passes to Expo ’67 we all enjoyed. At Canadian Marconi Dad met Margot, and they married in 1972 with his children in joyful attendance. Soon thereafter he joined Singer Kearfott in White Plains, NY, from where Dad and Margot decamped first to Paris, then Brussels, where he headed up the sales of fighter aircraft guidance systems to European and Middle Eastern governments. While based in Europe the two traveled extensively, and even sailed the Baltic. Both were homesick, so Dad took his first retirement at 55 and built a house on Lake Muskoka. Bored with selling real estate, however, Dad reentered the working world where he taught physics at Seneca College, and with Allied Signal (later Garrett Industries) promoted sales of the experimental peripheral vision horizon device (PVD) mainly to the US military. Dad finally retired in 1989 and moved with Margot to Port Carling where he had spent many summers as a boy. There the two RV’d extensively throughout Canada and the US, and spent many days mapping trails in and around Muskoka. In 2005, Dad and Margot relocated to the milder climate of Welland, where Margot died in 2015. A year later our despondent Dad then moved to Sunnybrook, where he was well attended by caring and compassionate staff. Our cerebral and multilingual Father was fundamentally a scientist, and taught us to value reason over passion, facts over faith and, above all, to seek the richness of life’s offerings. We are all thankful for his lessons, and his love. A service will be held in the Chapel at Sunnybrook Hospital at 10 am on Monday, 18 September 2017 followed by a reception in the Blythwood Room. Burial will be in Hope Cemetery, Mount Forest at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations to mark Dad’s passing would be gratefully received by the Trans Canada Trail at www.thegreattrail.ca

Mr. Arthur Edward Kennedy

September 11, 2017