John F. Kennedy, business owner from Ronkonkoma, dies at 53

Just like his father before him, Syosset-born John F. Kennedy understood what it took to create great teams, not just with his family but with all the children he coached.

“It was just all about love and kindness,” said his wife Donna Kennedy.

In 1988, she married Kennedy — her high school beau, a former co-captain of Syosset High School’s football team and an All-County player. “We made a pretty good team,” she said.

The couple later moved to Ronkonkoma.

“We were all very proud of him, the community, his customers, his family, anybody that he ever came into contact with couldn’t find a harsh word to say about John,” she said.

Until his death from a heart attack Wednesday at 53, Kennedy ran the plumbing and heating business his father founded, Kennedy Plumbing and Heating.

“Especially in the cold weather, he would run out to anybody who had a freeze up, he was there for anybody who needed help, the most kind and generous man,” his wife said.

His father, William H. Kennedy, led the North Syosset Little League to the World Series in Williamsport in 1970 and coached youth baseball teams for more than 25 years, according to a 2009 Newsday obituary.

And for his son, “Sports were his passion,” his wife said.

So was coaching, especially baseball.

An “avid” fan of the Mets and Jets, Kennedy had played baseball for Syosset High School.

He was a former president of the Connetquot Youth Association, a sports organization that offers baseball and softball, and he coached travel baseball.

“John Kennedy was a man that never said no to anyone, he was so helpful. I can’t tell you how many hours and how many of his own dollars he put into our organization,” Steve Smith, the group’s president, said in a statement.

Todd Silverstein, 54, of Ronkonkoma praised his neighbor as an extraordinary coach, leader and friend.

“I was so happy with John as a person and a coach,” he said. “He was just an unbelievable person, everything was about the kids and teaching the kids.”

Kennedy recently returned to coaching for his great-niece’s softball team.

“He just couldn’t stay away,” his wife said. And he recently returned from traveling across the country with his son, John W. Kennedy, who was moving to Austin, Texas.

Kennedy is also survived by his daughter, Michelle Kennedy of Holbrook, and his sisters Elizabeth Flaherty of Holtsville, Helen Didier of Hampton, New Hampshire, Jacqueline McManus of Huntington Station and Brenda Hudler of Bohemia.

Moloney’s Bohemia Funeral Home will hold a viewing from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday. A funeral Mass will be offered at the Parish of the Holy Cross in Nesconset on Tuesday at 10 a.m.