John Finley Kennedy II, 82, of Floral City, FL passed away December 20, 2022 at HPH Hospice House in Lecanto, FL. He was born in Cleveland, OH on March 6, 1940 to the late John F. and Frances (Wolfram) Kennedy. John served his country honorably in the U.S. Navy, specifically aiding in the search for Russian submarines during the Cuban Missile Crisis with his squadron, Patron Five “Mad Foxes.” Building on his naval knowledge, John then moved his young family to St Croix, US Virgin Islands as project manager for Tracor Marine doing oceanographic research for 7 years. After that, the family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fl and he co-founded General Offshore Corp, another oceanographic research firm. After building General Offshore to a successful international business, he moved to Floral City in 1982. Here, John was involved in real estate, investing not in only properties but also in his community. He learned about Florida ranching from the Rooks family who also became his good friends. He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Pamela Kennedy. He is also survived by his children: Christine Murphy (Dan) and Erin Burns (Christopher), both of Cumming, GA, and Jonathan Finley Kennedy (Janet) of Sebastian, FL; brother Joseph Kennedy; sister Marie “Sue” Fountain; and 5 grandchildren: Lauren and Ryan Murphy, Josh and Zach Burns, and John Kennedy; along with numerous nieces and nephews. He was an inspiration to all of his family and was the one to call whenever anyone had a problem to be solved. He could fix anything with a roll of duct tape and a can of WD-40! During his time in St Croix- he could dock a boat of any size with ease- to the amazement of all on-lookers. In 1976, while still in the Virgin Islands- he was invited by the US Navy to dive in the deep submersible “Alvin” to the ocean floor.
He loved the ocean but hated the beach! In 1989, he was part of a mission to Taiwan to evaluate the Taiwanese antisubmarine warfare capability. He was a loving and supportive father as well as a protective big brother to Joe and Sue. He taught his son, Jonathan- “If you are going to fix something, fix it right.” He loved to hear about all the accomplishments of his grandkids and was very proud of each of them.
A Celebration of Life Memorial Service for John is scheduled for Friday, January 13, 3:00 P.M. at the Chas. E. Davis Funeral Home with Dr. Michael Wilburn from Home Church in Floral City officiating. Following the service, military honors will be rendered in recognition of John’s service. The family will be receiving friends in visitation one hour prior to the service. His urn will be laid to rest at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL at a later date.
“Dad- the gate is locked, the cows are in, the barn door is shut and all is well, you’ve done good.”
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