John Joseph Kavanagh, age 94, passed away on November 20, 2022, in San Clemente, CA from natural causes.

 

A native New Yorker, John was born in New York City to Joseph Amzi Kavanagh and Elizabeth M. Sacks on January 11, 1928.  He had two older sisters, Ruth (Koch) and Margaret (Massi). John attended Xavier High School and Manhattan College and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1952. He started his engineering career with Bressler and Associates, and then started his own business, K&R Engineering.   In 1958, he married Helen Maybelle Hines and enjoyed 41 years together until her passing on May 19, 1999. They had three children together.

 

John provided his family the proverbial New Yorker experience with summers spent on the Jersey Shore in Long Branch. He and his family shared a trove of memories at “The Barn”, their summer home built by John’s father from an old milk barn just a few blocks from the beach.  Commuting back on forth on weekends, John always found a way to quickly adjust to the family’s summer rhythms before heading back to the city on Mondays for work.  John, Helen and the kids enjoyed wonderful memories at the shore, and welcomed relatives and friends to join them for a relaxing beach vacation.

 

Shortly after John's 90th birthday he moved from New York City to San Clemente, CA to be closer to family. John settled in at the San Clemente Villas and was blessed to be surrounded by family and new friends. We are grateful to the wonderful staff at SCV for the care and attention they provided him.

 

John was preceded in death by his wife and two sisters, He is survived by his three children: MaryBeth Kavanagh, AnnMarie Mizuno, and Christopher Kavanagh (Beverly). He is also survived by his grandchildren Christopher, Malia, Noa, Avery and Audrey.

 

John was a wonderful brother, father and grandfather and will be dearly missed by all who knew him.