LifeStoryNet.com

Life Story Funeral Homes®
The exclusive providers of the Life Story Experience

 

Life Story Funeral Homes®
The exclusive providers of the Life Story Experience

John Kittredge

August 28, 2018
Kalamazoo, MI

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/obituary-default.jpg

Obituary


Print

Died Tuesday evening August 28, 2018 at his home, surrounded by his family. John was born August 4, 1927 in Dayton, Ohio, a son of Harvey and Clare (Batten) Kittredge, Sr. He was preceded in death by his parents; 2 sisters, Jeannette Lacouture and Clare Putnam; and a brother, H.G. Kittredge, Jr. On October 22, 1955, he was united in marriage to Mary E. (Keyser) Kittredge who survives. Also surviving, 3 children, John L. Kittredge and Robert Winks of South Bend, IN, Jeannette (Bruce) Amrine of Missoula, MT, and David Kittredge of Littleton, CO; a granddaughter, Jenele Kittredge; a sister-in-law, Betty Kittredge of Beaufort, SC; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. John had been a Kalamazoo area resident since 1970, where he worked for Roto-Finish and later was a consultant for vibratory and other mass finishing techniques. He was very active with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and was a charter member of their Burr, Edge and Surface Conditioning Technology committee. He started and was Executive Director of the Mass Finishing Job Shops Association, (MFJSA). In addition he taught seminars on vibratory and other mass finishing methods for the SME and independent companies. He was active with the Society of Die Cast Engineers. He wrote technical papers on Mass Finishing for SME and American Electroplaters Society among others. Also, he wrote quarterly articles for Products Finishing magazine. He was a member of the American Chemical Society since 1950, the National Association of Corrosion Engineers for 5 years, the Society of Plastics Engineers for 15 years, the Society of Die Cast Engineers, the American Electroplaters Society, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Association for Finishing Processes. He was a Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE), from 1973 to present and joined ASTME in 1969. The culmination of his career occurred 14 years after he retired when the, "Mass Finishing Handbook" by LaRoux Gillespie was dedicated to: "John Kittredge, A leader in the field of Burr Technology". In 2008 John and Mary joined Friendship Village where he thrived and shared his computer talents along with his humor and witticisms with many others in the community. He was active on many committees as well. In addition to his work, he volunteered with SCORE for over 20 years and became a certified mentor, "helping people start a small business or those having problems". He was an avid sailor and racer in the Flying Scott fleet at Gull Lake Yacht Club for over 45 years, including serving as past fleet captain. For John, family was a very important priority, from recording genealogy to preserving family traditions and photos, he cared for all. A memorial service will be held 2 o'clock September 22 in Friendship Village KIVA room, 1400 North Drake Rd. Wearing a bow tie is encouraged. Friends may meet family after the service. Memorials may be directed to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan or to Friendship Village Kalamazoo, Employee Appreciation Fund. Please visit John's personalized webpage for directions, online guestbook, or to leave a condolence. Arrangements were made by the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick St. www.langelands.com.