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Death of a Proud Sailor, a Board Legend - RIP Lord O' Bones


Fragile Bird

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6 hours ago, BloodRider said:

This sucks.  Will we have a board representative at the service who can pass along what he meant for the community here.  I think it would mean much to his family.

It wasn't a formal service - John's sister told me he wouldn't have wanted it, and they wished to abide his wishes, as John was not a religious man. So they gathered at his aunt's home and were together as a family, celebrating John's life. 

As FB stated, I am collecting money for the Palo Alto VA through Saturday. We so far as a community have raised over $1500, which is amazing, and frankly, absolutely awe inspiring. I am going to electronically donate in John's name on Saturday night, and contact his family,  via Facebook to let them know what our community has donated in John's honor, and also send them a letter/card. 

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I was away for the weekend and was shocked to see this when I got into work this morning. I was under the impression that Bonesy was getting better when I last logged on.

I'm not going to pretend that I had as deep a bond with Bonesy as many of you board lifers did, but he was always a really good guy to interact with. He brought passion to the U.S. politics threads and was hysterical in the NFL threads. He will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, John! 

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Found out on FB, where honestly I've lost track of most of my favorite board pals - except for Mya, Bones and a few others.

As much as it breaks my heart to know he's gone, it also makes me smile to see so many of you remembering him and his impact on this community.

RIP LoB. You will be remembered.

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16 minutes ago, Blaine said:

Found out on FB, where honestly I've lost track of most of my favorite board pals - except for Mya, Bones and a few others.

As much as it breaks my heart to know he's gone, it also makes me smile to see so many of you remembering him and his impact on this community.

RIP LoB. You will be remembered.

I hate that this brought us back here, but in a weird way, it's comforting to see so many of us. 

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I floated halfway around the planet with that angry squid. I'm saying it here because I'm bragging. John Kenady was my shipmate.

I looked at my float book to see if there were any pics of him in it. (He had found some pics of me in his a few years back.) But Marines don't save pics of squids that aren't Corpsman. I wish I could cajole him about that. I wish I could talk some shit.

Lord of Bones was a good man that stood up for what he believed was right. 

 

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hey friends...and everyone else who has given a word or two to the memory of Lord o' Bones...i'm sorry i can't look back and see who said something about photos...well imgur works, so here are a couple i have from the Aunts to share...
here with the power of E...Elvis, that  is.

and of course Sailor Bones

and this one...

i think this was posted by a close friend on facebook,..cheers from Bones....as i raise a glass to him...

 

On 5/29/2017 at 9:32 PM, Lily Valley said:

During the last election cycle, I was never tempted to block our LoB.  He was infuriating, yes.  But he, also, was so ANGRY.  His posts helped me to understand an entire group of people that just baffled and enraged me.  

He was so clear and so human that he managed to take the razor's edge off of my post-election misandry.  In his own way, he redeemed a whole lot of people that had me in a smiting fury.  I love him for that.  

Still never dating a dude again after that election.  He wasn't a MIRACLE WORKER.

Sleep well, friend.  I'll be up there sooner or later to pick up where we left off, you unconsciously misogynistic, aggravating, and brave weirdo.  

Edit:  handsome, forgot handsome.  Though that bit goes without saying, Navy man and all.

you know it, Babe... ;)

and hey i never thought of blocking him either...kicking his skinny ass, yeah, but not blocking

11 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

His family has been using John's Facebook page to communicate with his friends, and people are posting tributes and pictures there.  rocksniffer has been the contact person with his aunt. When John first went to hospital and seemed to be doing better, he put together a large chat group with many friends, being the organized person he was, likely so he could respond to everyone easily. I had asked him how he was doing, and he said he was feeling much better. Sadly, he then took a turn for the worse and I didn't see anymore posts from him. :crying:  But because he set up the group, we were getting much of our news through the link, and many messages of love and support were sent. And this page has been linked with family so that they can read our tributes. :)

The family has expressed enormous appreciation for our messages and stories, and I strongly encourage anyone who has a story about any of their interactions with LoB to post the story. :)

 

you are so right my Dear Bird...these words are from Bones' Aunt...sorry i could not figure out how to make this look normal, i copied it from my message window

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH I have shared Facebook messages with his family and they have been met with gratitude.
Going to use your link right now [this was a link i posted for her to this thread]
Such amazing responses from his friends. Will share comments with family.
Facebook page: Today, May 29, at 12:01 PM, John's family will gather for a Celebration of Life in Louisville, Kentucky. If you care to share something that touched you in your discussions, or even just a thought or memory of John, we would get to visit with John through you. John's friends' comments have lifted our hearts. Thanks to all of you for caring for our John. He will be missed.

 

7 hours ago, Mya Stone said:

It wasn't a formal service - John's sister told me he wouldn't have wanted it, and they wished to abide his wishes, as John was not a religious man. So they gathered at his aunt's home and were together as a family, celebrating John's life. 

As FB stated, I am collecting money for the Palo Alto VA through Saturday. We so far as a community have raised over $1500, which is amazing, and frankly, absolutely awe inspiring. I am going to electronically donate in John's name on Saturday night, and contact his family,  via Facebook to let them know what our community has donated in John's honor, and also send them a letter/card. 

thanks again for managing this Mya my friend, the aunts i am friends with on facebook have suggested something like this, but i just smiled and kept mum i want them to be surprised...i don't think they realized that he had so many people out here who loved him like they did!

 

On 5/29/2017 at 0:10 AM, Arbor Gold said:

John and I used to text each other, "the moon looks cool. go take a look."

I was just outside, and the moon looks cool. If you can, please go take a look and think of John.

thank you @Arbor Gold...thank you very much...i am looking at my moon now...

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I am so incredibly sorry to hear this.  I never knew or interacted with LoB outside this board but he was one of the first boarders who stood out with his posts on this board when I first discovered this board and one of the first people to make me feel welcome by responding to my posts.  I was new to the book series and I remember trying to figure out what character in the books his name came from!  I used to look for his posts to read and missed them when they stopped being so regular.  I always hoped he would come to a Worldcon so I could meet him in person.  I'm sorry that will never happen now.  We will raise a glass in his honor at Helsinki this summer.

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14 hours ago, Mya Stone said:

I hate that this brought us back here, but in a weird way, it's comforting to see so many of us. 

Some of us, like me, don't use facebook and have trouble with any kind of traveling so BWB or con meet ups would be difficult, but I'm always here on the board if anybody needs me.

I've got a couple LOB mini anecdotes, was going to say "small" anecdotes, but nothing LOB ever did could be considered small.

When we had the east coast earthquake in 2011 Bonesy thought it was hysterically funny how rattled a 5.8 got some of us.

In one of my many "back in the day"/"80's were awesome" rants I brought up the Atari 400, LoB admonished me that that was a system we just didn't talk about, almost like it was a hypothetical horrid sequel to Highlander or something. I never found out why that system was black marked like that.

In some sort of what fictional character you are most like thread I was being pretty self deprecating, LoB chimed in and said he thought of me as Omega Supreme from the Transformers. It was one of the highest complements I ever received.

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1 hour ago, drawkcabi said:

In some sort of what fictional character you are most like thread I was being pretty self deprecating, LoB chimed in and said he thought of me as Omega Supreme from the Transformers. It was one of the highest complements I ever received.

Bonesy often knew just what to say, didn't he?

I had a board crush on him, just like Baita said, and others. I'm pretty sure half the board did. He was funny and droll, knowledgeable about many things, self-deprecating at times and arrogant at others, and could read people and knew how to respond to what he saw. Sensitive is a word that's been used, but that word isn't big enough to fully describe him.

Bonesy liked women and that's why women responded to him. You knew it when you talked to him on the board or on fb. A lot of guys think they like women, but it's more like they are standing on the opposite side of the room, whereas John was on the same side of the room with you.

He had a rapport with many of the guys on the board too, not just the women. I'm not delusional,  I know he wasn't perfect, but no one is. If there was anyone who deserved to live a long and happy life, it was him. We all do, of course, but I really wished a good life for him.

More than anything he reminded me strongly of a brother I lost when he was 29. They did the same things, they talked the same way, they had the same eyes. My brother loved women too, and they loved him. He too could be a dick sometimes and was unafraid to tell you when you were being one. I told John about him and how much he reminded me of him. Knowing John was a bit like having him back, and losing John has been like losing him all over again. 

There are a lot of great and wonderful people on this board, but there was only one Lord O' Bones. Rest in peace.

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Well, shit.

This is the first I've seen this thread. John's dad lives in the same small town in southern Kentucky as me. Had some minor dealings with him at one point through work. For a while, John was living here with his dad and we messaged back and forth a bit about how we should get together. But we never did. And now, that makes me sad.

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1 hour ago, Lord of Oop North said:

 

even though I never had the chance to meet him, this feels like the passing of an old friend.

 

 

This about sums up how I feel. My deepest condolences to family and friends. :( Bonesy will be greatly missed.

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9 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Bonesy often knew just what to say, didn't he?

I had a board crush on him, just like Baita said, and others. I'm pretty sure half the board did. He was funny and droll, knowledgeable about many things, self-deprecating at times and arrogant at others, and could read people and knew how to respond to what he saw. Sensitive is a word that's been used, but that word isn't big enough to fully describe him.

Bonesy liked women and that's why women responded to him. You knew it when you talked to him on the board or on fb. A lot of guys think they like women, but it's more like they are standing on the opposite side of the room, whereas John was on the same side of the room with you.

He had a rapport with many of the guys on the board too, not just the women. I'm not delusional,  I know he wasn't perfect, but no one is. If there was anyone who deserved to live a long and happy life, it was him. We all do, of course, but I really wished a good life for him.

More than anything he reminded me strongly of a brother I lost when he was 29. They did the same things, they talked the same way, they had the same eyes. My brother loved women too, and they loved him. He too could be a dick sometimes and was unafraid to tell you when you were being one. I told John about him and how much he reminded me of him. Knowing John was a bit like having him back, and losing John has been like losing him all over again. 

There are a lot of great and wonderful people on this board, but there was only one Lord O' Bones. Rest in peace.

Darling bird, i see you found your words...and they are beautiful...though i expect Bones would talk shit about our sappy thoughts...but i don't care your remembrances make me happy...

:wub:

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21 hours ago, rocksniffer said:

hey friends...and everyone else who has given a word or two to the memory of Lord o' Bones...i'm sorry i can't look back and see who said something about photos...well imgur works, so here are a couple i have from the Aunts to share...
here with the power of E...Elvis, that  is.

and of course Sailor Bones

and this one...

i think this was posted by a close friend on facebook,..cheers from Bones....as i raise a glass to him...

 

 

thank you @Arbor Gold...thank you very much...i am looking at my moon now...

I keep thinking about the only picture I had of Bonesy.  It's not one to share with his family though.

While his humor could take a wicked turn, it could occasionally take a TMI one as well. Not sure how it came up, but he was talking about how his butt cheeks turn red when he's sitting on the toilet. Not sure what I responded, but it netted me a picture of his red butt cheeks :rofl:

 

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One of the things I knew about him was that he loved his mom and sister.  That strikes me because a lot of men pretend to casual feelings for the women in their lives and he was unabashed in loving and admiring them while also managing to be a 'man's man.'  He was gifted in thought and expression.

I just said 'was' in relation to LoB.  That just ain't right.

 

Can someone link to his profile as Bonesy?  I didn't follow the politics thread so while I know he supported Bernie, I never read his posts in the recent past (since he had to make a new profile.)  There used to be a 'members' button where you could look people up but I can't work it out. It would be comforting to read his old posts.

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Talk about surreal.

For those of you who don't know (and most people on here don't), I'm the editor of a small community newspaper. I just got John's obit in my email to be included in our next newspaper. It's a pretty great obituary, so I'll share it here.

 

 

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John Benedict Kenady, 42, of Louisville, died peacefully on Saturday, May 27, 2017, at Baptist East Hospital, with his loving mother and family by his side. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 8, 1975. After living in Trumbull, Connecticut for several years, John and his family moved to California in 1982, where he graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1993. He served his country in the United States Navy from 1993 to 1999, and was a Gulf War veteran.  He was stationed on the Destroyers USS Fife and later, the USS Cushing. He was an ET3 and served in Japan, the Persian Gulf, the China Sea and the Philippines. He later worked as a civilian for Harris Corporation in Sunnyvale, California.

 

John is survived by his mother, Ruth Rogers Haley (Barron) of Pagosa Springs, Colorado; father, Kerry M. Kenady of Russellville, Kentucky; sister Kathy Kenady of Boise, Idaho; half sister Kary Leann Leigh (Norman) of Louisville; half brother Michael Kenady of Louisville; niece Kyla Kenady of Louisville; stepsister Sabrina Haley of Oakland, California; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

 

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Gerald and Helen Rogers, paternal grandparents, Harold and Lillian Kenady, uncle Don Kenady, cousin Joe Rogers, and nephew Michael Hardin.

 

John had a brilliant mind and a razor sharp wit. He was fiercely loyal to his many friends, and he lived an uncensored and unapologetic life. He was a sensitive and loving soul who will be deeply missed.

 

Cremation was chosen. A Celebration of Life was held for John on May 29, 2017, in Louisville with his family. If desired, donations in John’s name can be made to any veterans’ charity.  Please honor and remember John in your own meaningful way. Read a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Cheer for the Giants, Sharks, or Warriors.  Take your own small personal action toward social justice. Fair winds and following seas, John. We love you.

 

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