John Francis Kern

John Frances Kern, long-time resident of Washington Township, was called home to Heaven Wednesday, August 31, 2022. John was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Burnell George and Mildred Julia (Donahoe) Kern. He married Rosemary Jean Kavanagh in 1955. They enjoyed 60 years of marriage before Rosemary passed away in 2015.

John is survived by children Patricia Hartman (David) of Harrison Township, MI, Kathleen Kern (Patrick MacVeigh) of Cincinnati, OH, Margaret Merholz (Michael) of Ashland, VA, Edward Kern (Elizabeth) of Leonard, MI and John Scally Kern of Menlo Park, CA. Also survived by grandchildren Ruth Hartman (Clint Conner), Aurora MacVeigh, Maxwell MacVeigh (Abigail) and Steven Merholz, and great grandchildren Amelia and Vincent MacVeigh. John is further survived by his brother, Thomas Kern (Virginia) of Edina, MN, several cousins and numerous Kern, Manning and Kavanagh nieces and nephews. John was predeceased by his parents, sister Mary Kern Manning (late Joseph), and brother-in-law Thomas Kavanagh (late Ann).

John used his talents wisely during his long employment with General Motors. He worked on projects as widely varying as the guidance systems for the Apollo moon shot, tanks and the Thor missile, special zero tolerance dimensioning systems for drafting, crash dummy development, train manufacturing and unique parts naming protocols.

John was a traveler. He and Rosemary belonged to the Nomads travel group and went all over Europe, Canada and the USA. One of the best things about this travel was meeting the parents of his future daughter-in-law Elizabeth.

John was a scholar with wide interests, especially in genealogy. A master of detail, he linked over 25,000 of his French ancestors using his French language skills and researching ability. While accumulating over 400 credits of higher education, John earned a BS from Oakland University and an MS from Central Michigan University. He was proud of the fact that all of his children and grandchildren graduated from college and are doing well in their chosen fields.

John was a planner. He enjoyed his homes over the years, especially the Wingate Dr home in Washington Township, which he owned for 48 years. He loved to consider all the possibilities for his home projects before executing them. He had every tool imaginable in his home shop. He was ready for any “fixing” job. Whether a child needed to be rescued from the side of the road or a son-in-law needed an extra car horn installed, he was poised to take care of it.

John was a car lover. He liked to have a new car regularly and delighted in special ordering many of them. He made regular use of the employee buying program at GM to buy vehicles from an Opel Manta to a Camaro to the fully equipped super-charged Buicks of his dreams.

John was much loved by his family. He will be greatly missed.

Funeral Wednesday at 10 am at St Clement of Rome Catholic Church. Burial 1 pm at Guardian Angel Cemetery in Oakland Township. Visitation Tuesday from 3 – 8 pm with a 7 pm rosary service at the Henry M Malburg Funeral Home, Romeo, MI.

Donations can be sent to Capuchin Retreat House (62460 Mt. Vernon Washington, Mi 48094)