Obituary of James Cecil Kennedy
KENNEDY, James (Jim) Cecil
March 14, 1935 - May 8, 2020
Jim Kennedy died at home after a long illness while surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife Ruth (Hermosa), children David, Andrew (Yukiko), Marta, Peter (Jennifer), Sarita (Pavel), Samuel (Laurie), Joseph (Christina), and 11 grandchildren. He was predeceased by sister Mary Jean Rumball, brother Donald Kennedy, and parents Cecil and Jessie (Donaldson) Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy was born in Toronto and grew up in Weston, Ontario while it was still a small town surrounded by farmers' fields. He attended the University of Toronto, receiving B.A., M.D., and Ph.D. degrees. After a short time in California, Jim and his family settled in Kingston, where he has lived since.
Jim Kennedy's most defining characteristics were his love of God, family, and his compassion towards others. For many decades, he and Ruth worked with the refugee community in Kingston and area, both sponsoring and helping in the settlement of many families and their ongoing acclimatisation to life in Canada. He was an active member of First Baptist Church, Kingston and could always be called on to assist. Professionally, Dr. Kennedy spent almost all of his career as a medical scientist at the then-Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, and Queen's University, where he developed techniques to treat skin cancer that have become widely used in the field. While he was still able, Jim enjoyed canoeing, having made his own wood-and-canvas canoe which he used on many solo wilderness trips when he was young. Jim's family has many fond recollections of canoe trips around Kingston and Chandos Lake, where his parents had a cottage.
Jim Kennedy will be greatly missed by his many friends and family.
Arrangements for cremation are in the care of JAMES REID FUNERAL HOME, Kingston. Due to restrictions currently in place for COVID-19, a celebration of Jim's life will be held at a later date. As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made to either: Camp Kwasind (http://kwasind.com/donate/), where Jim first met his wife Ruth or Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (https://ivcf.ca/donate/), where Jim and Ruth met many friends.
