John "Jack" R. Kison

John "Jack" Kison was a man of strong character, a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend. He knew how to put others at ease and was more than willing to help where he saw a need. Throughout his life, Jack maintained an essence of commitment to family, faith and the joy of life itself. John Robert Kison, more affectionately known as Jack, was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on November 30, 1931, during a difficult time in American history, the Great Depression. Despite the economic hardships of the era, Jack's parents, Ernest and Florence (LeMieux), provided a healthy and stable home for their family, which would eventually include four children: Ernest, Louis "Bud", Jack and Karen. While his mother was a busy homemaker, Jack's father supported the family working at Continental Motors, as well as helping out in the family floor covering business. Jack enjoyed a typical childhood growing up on Franklin Street, and had many relatives living nearby to keep an eye on him and his siblings. During the snowy season, he and his brothers would take thrown out refrigerator doors from Norge and use them as sleds for some wintertime fun. Jack later worked at Norge during high school. He was always pretty mechanically minded, which was quite obvious after he took apart a watch his parents gave him, and put it right back together perfectly. After graduating from Muskegon High School, where he also played football, Jack honed his mechanical skills working at Consumers Power, before enlisting in the Navy Reserve. When the Korean War broke out, he was called to active duty and served as an electrician on a destroyer, which patrolled the east coast. Upon his discharge, Jack returned home to Muskegon and his job at Consumers. Shortly thereafter, Jack went on a double date with Gloria Christensen, and they fell in love. The couple was happily married on September 15, 1956, and a year later became the proud parents of a daughter they named Lynn. Then, in 1960, they welcomed the birth of their son, Paul, who was followed a year later by their youngest son, David. Jack was a true family man and worked hard to provide for them at Consumer Power as well as at a second job with Muskegon Window Cleaning. During his 36-year career with Consumer, he was the Materials Store Supervisor, and was responsible for maintaining all the supplies the workers needed for their jobs. Jack was known for being highly organized, and always kept a tight ship. Outside of work, Jack devoted his time to his family, and they spent almost every weekend during the summer at the Kison family cottage on Crystal Lake, making lots of wonderful memories together. Heartbreakingly, Jack lost his beloved Gloria to breast cancer in 1972, after a two year battle. After this terrible loss, Jack quit his second job to devote more time to his children. In 1976, Jack was introduced to a wonderful lady named Shirley Baker, through his brother-in-law, Dr. Richard Harris. Shirley was a nurse, the mother of four teenage children, and had recently lost her husband to cancer. The two were instantly taken with each other and it wasn't long before they were hopelessly in love. After only a few months, the couple became engaged, and was married on May 8, 1976. When Jack and Shirley wed, it symbolized not only the merging of two lives, but also of two families. Both wanting a strong family, they worked hard and together to make their separate families into one loving group. They sold their respective houses and bought one big enough for them and six children. Undoubtedly, there were some bumps in the road along the way, but Jack and Shirley stood together and filled their home with love and faith in God, which helped create a beautiful family unity. With such a large family, there were without a doubt some great stories to be told, one of which included their family trip to Washington, D.C. in a motor home that constantly overheated. Jack became involved with Boy Scouts when his son Greg was working on his Eagle Scout. In fact, the Scoutmaster and Assistant of the troop became Jack's lifelong best friends. Jack's strong faith was a hallmark of his life. He was a member of St. Francis DeSales Catholic Church, but also attended Lakeside Baptist Church, where his wife Shirley was a member. He would attend early morning mass at St. Francis then go home to "bounce" the kids out of bed so they could go to service at Lakeside with Shirley. Although not a member here, Jack volunteered in many activities and helped along where needed. Jack was a man who cared for everyone he knew, and expressed his care through his generosity and willingness to always lend a helping hand. His neighbor said, "Jack could see you needed help even before you knew it." A jack-of-all-trades, Jack could fix just about anything and tended to many home improvement projects himself. He taught his daughter Shellie how to change the oil in her car. Within the busyness of life, Jack and Shirley made sure to take time out for them, and enjoyed weekend trips away from it all, though they worried what they would come home to later. In retirement, the couple enjoyed being active at the local YMCA and playing dominos together. They also loved to travel and visited many wonderful places like Australia, Alaska and Hawaii, just to name a few. Sadly, Jack was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in January of this year, and had several serious falls. John "Jack" Kison, age 74, died Wednesday, October 11, 2006 surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; 5 sons: Paul (Lonnie) Kison of Hudson, David Kison of Muskegon, Mark (Lori) Baker of Shelby, Steven (Barb) Baker of Jenison, Greg (Gayle) Baker of Twin Lake; 2 daughters: Lynn Heidt of Traverse City, Shellie (Ken) Shady of Muskegon; 12 grandchildren: Megan (Alyn) Goossen, Jack (Kelly) Baker, Jennifer Heidt, Christine Heidt, Justin Shady, Nicole Shady, Jacob Baker, Grayson Baker, Kaitlin Baker, Sarah Baker, Bryan Kison & Matthew Kison; 2 great-grandchildren, Bradyn Goossen and Owen Baker; sister, Karen Cooper of Muskegon; and 2 brothers, Ernest (Val) Kison of Muskegon & Louis "Bud" Kison of Muskegon. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Gloria. Services will be on Saturday, October 14, at 1:00 p.m. at Clock Chapel with Pastor Ken Shady officiating. Interment at St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday, from 6-9 p.m. at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Memorial contributions may be made to the Christopher Reeves Foundation or Alzheimer's Association. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory of Jack or sign the online guestbook.