William R. Kern Jr.
02/19/2009
MU - Colgate University - 1952
NEW CASTLE — William Richard Kern, Jr. (Dick), 79, of New Castle died peacefully Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, at his home with his wife and son by his side. He is survived by his wife, Anne; his son John S. Kern and his wife Sharon of Salt Lake City, his son Edward R. Kern and his wife Ginny of Cumberland, and his son David S. Kern and his wife Sue of Merrimac, Mass.; his brother Donald E. Kern and his wife Barry of Westfield, N.J. and his brother Robert J. Kern and his wife Janet of Tampa, Fla; his grandchildren Emily and Tucker Kern of Salt Lake City, Sam, Grant and Jennifer of Cumberland, and Jack, Caroline and Sarah of Merrimac, Mass.; extended family and friends. A memorial service will be held this summer at Ocean Point, East Boothbay. Donations in Dick's memory can be made to The Christen Foundation, 95 Brewery Lane, #14, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Arrangements are entrusted to the Cremation Society of New Hampshire, 243 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH 03104-4857. WE REMEMBER: He was born Nov. 26, 1929, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the first son of the late William Richard Kern Sr. and Josephine (Pesavento) Kern. Dick's family moved from Brooklyn to Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y., where he and his two brothers, Donald Ellsworth Kern and Robert Joseph Kern, enjoyed sailing their 24-foot boat, RIDORO, named for the first two initials in each of their names. This was the beginning of a lifelong passion of boating. Dick attended Great Neck High School and Kimball Union Academy, in Meriden, graduating in 1948. He went onto Colgate University, where he joined the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon, graduating as an English major, in 1952. Dick worked for Colgate-Palmolive prior to joining the U.S. Army in September 1952, attending boot camp at Fort Knox, Ky. While at Colgate he met his wife, Anne (Hankinson) Kern, who was visiting the campus from Skidmore College. Anne and Dick were married on December 21, 1952, in Summit, N.J. In January of 1955 Dick was honorably discharged from the Army as a 1st lieutenant while working in Washington, D.C. for the National Security Agency. He had left the Army, upon the death of his father, to take over the William R. Kern Company, a food brokerage in Philadelphia. As president, Dick ran his father's company for several years, ultimately merging with Grant Hanson, forming Kern-Hanson, Inc. In 1962, he sold his interest in the company to his partner and joined Edward Dalton (what would become a division of Mead Johnson Nutritionals). In 1969, Dick joined the Head Ski Company as its eastern sales manager. This was short lived, as AMF purchased Head, so Dick moved on to the Becton Dickinson Co. in Rutherford, N.J., where he became president of the consumer products division. In 1978, Dick took the position of president of Mead Johnson Nutritionals, where he worked until 1983. He worked as president of ECKO, in Chicago for one year prior to moving back East in 1984. Dick became a partner for Heidrick & Struggles in their New York City office. After 10 years with Heidrick & Struggles, he retired in 1994, and he and Anne moved to New Castle. Anne introduced Dick to Boothbay, where they rented houses for summer vacations until they purchased their own on Ocean Point in 1991. Dick's love of boating, fishing, playing tennis and eating lobster were the mainstays of his vacations in Boothbay. He had owned several boats over the years, including a 21-foot Grady White called Jermaine, a 28-foot Cape Dory picnic boat, Seasound and a 30-foot Mainship Pilot. Dick loved to be on the water, heading out for a picnic, fishing, entertaining friends and family or simply taking a nap while tied up to the mooring. He was an excellent captain who enjoyed teaching his three sons seamanship and how to navigate a boat with and without high tech electronics. Dick enjoyed being a member of the Down East Yacht Club located in the Boothbay Region. He volunteered his time on various charity and local community boards including Big Brother/Big Sister of Portsmouth and the Ducks Head Association. One of his most rewarding contributions to the community was as a co-founder and president of the Card Cove Association, which raised funds for the building and maintenance of a new community dock at Ocean Point. View article posted on seacoastonline.com