John Martin Kernahan

January 15, 1955 – June 15, 2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of John Martin Kernahan.

Born in Calgary, John was the third of six children.  John started skiing at an early age, competing in ski races, and spending many weekends at Lake Louise with his family.  John also developed a love for sailing, travelling across Western Canada and competing in many regattas.  

He not only had a competitive streak in skiing and sailing but also excelled at music and academics.  John set high standards, with a detail orientation in everything he did, but was also fun-loving and had infectious enthusiasm and energy recognized by his family and friends.  This was demonstrated early on as Student Council President at Henry Wisewood High School and in singing and dancing with the Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede.

John developed a love of teaching, becoming a ski instructor at Lake Louise and a sailing instructor at the Glenmore Sailing School in Calgary, where he spent several years running the school.  His love of sailing took him on many adventures around the islands off the West Coast of Canada and to the Virgin Islands.  It also took him to the Gorge every summer where he became an accomplished windsurfer and an even more accomplished kite boarder.  When it wasn’t windy John loved to water ski and was very proficient at carving through slalom courses.

John balanced his summers on the water with his winters on the snow.  He was an early adopter of snowboarding, which he said gave him a new challenge, even on beginner runs.  After he mastered that, he switched back to skiing and enjoyed many days up at Whistler/Blackcomb.

John also was a self-declared “motor-head” developing a love for cars after his dad purchased a new Jaguar XKE in 1963. John started his car and motorcycle collection small, with Austin Minis and evolved to importing and selling used Porsche 911s.  John’s love of cars even extended to a stint racing open wheeled race cars.  John enjoyed buying and selling cars and motorcycles, ending up with a unique collection of vintage motorcycles and a couple of pristine Jaguar XJS convertibles, to name a few.  

John graduated from Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta and then embarked on a lifelong career in sales.  He thrived in technical sales at major North American technology companies and earned many accolades for his successes.  He coupled his love of sales and cars into a job selling new Porches in Vancouver.  John had several consulting jobs later in his life but always returned to his love of the mountains and oceans.

Throughout his life, both at work and at play, John made many, many friends in all parts of the world, from his roots in Alberta and life in BC, in his time working in various industries, to his personal time in the Gorge, the Baja, trips to Europe and the US. 

In his later years, John spent almost half the year in a small community in La Ventana, Mexico, where he went kite boarding daily, enjoyed being with the people there, and even learned to speak passable Spanish.  He would come back to Vancouver to catch Spring skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb, enjoying the summers swimming at Kitsilano Pool, biking and rollerblading around the sea wall, going on motorcycle trips with his friends, or just driving his cars.

John was a caring son to his parents later in their lives, and a caring brother, ensuring that his terminally ill sister had the best care. He also did what was needed to help out around her home, naming himself “Co-co the Houseboy”. John had a lot of nicknames including “Kernal”, “John-Boy” and “Crazeee Johneee” to his friends, morphing to “John Juan” and “JB” (Juanito Bonito) in the Baja, and of course “GUJ” (Grandpa Uncle Johnny) to his extended family.

John is predeceased by his mom Elaine, his father Mart, and his sister Lynda. He is survived by his siblings Marilyn, Sheila (Michael), Cameron (Terry), Valerie (Ed) and nieces and nephews Chris (Meagan), Katy (Dan), Hillary (Robbie), Lauren (Doug), Sydney (Dave), Hailey, Claire, and Austin. 

John chose to leave us too soon and will be dearly missed by his family and many friends.  With all our hearts we hope that he can now rest in peace.

A Celebration of Life for John will be held in Vancouver on August 17^th, 2023.  For more details, please contact the family.