Carl Kennedy
February 9, 1929 – December 3, 2016

 

Carl Kennedy, circa 1950's

This is the story of a man who lived a very full and extraordinary life. Carl Kociubynski was born in 1929 of a Ukrainian Catholic mother and a Polish Jew father. His background was a secret he kept for most of his life. He grew up in a small town called Buchach, which was in Poland prior to 1939 and in Western Ukraine after. He was a witness to the holocaust, weekly the Nazi's came into his small town to 'cleanse the Jews'. Some time later his mother got word the SS were hunting for him. He hid in a monastery which is how he escaped capture. He never told these stories until he was 83.

At age 15 the Russians came and drafted him into the war; he was handed a gun and ammunition. He was wounded by a grenade and a bullet near the end of the War. Afterwards he made his way to the coast and then to Canada by boat. He worked on the railway in Winnipeg until making enough money to get to BC, where he met and married his first wife Audrey. This was when he changed his name to Carl Kennedy. He worked on ships for most of his early adult life, travelling to exotic locations like the West Indies and later working up North with the BC Ferries. Carl and Audrey had two children, Chris and Diane. In 1977 his first wife died, later he married his second wife Crystal, with whom he had 3 more children; Kurt, Marc and Carl. For 35 years, he was a well-respected officer with the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans. For any that knew Carl, his passion was Hawaii, a place he visited over and over again. This will be his final resting place.

Carl is survived by his third wife Kaylin, his 5 children, 2 grandsons Colin and Scott; and his great granddaughter Liyah.

“He is loved, missed and will never be forgotten"

Carl Kennedy, December 2015

The Society of Pacific Region Fishery Officers would like to thank the Kennedy family,
Alana van Dam, Lenore Martinolich, Scotty Roxburgh and Herb Redekopp for providing the information necessary to complete this memorial page. Or thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Condolences

The Kennedy family, 2012

"My deepest condolences to the family. I also had the pleasure of working with
Carl as a young fishery officer in Vancouver and Steveston (he was Bravo 4-0 at that time), and later on in the Halibut program. He was an honest, hard working, dedicated and tenacious officer who provided many officers with guidance and training in their early years. Carl had a tremendous sense of humour and was a pleasure to work with. Rest in peace Carl, your work here is done!"

~Rob Tompkins

"I worked with and along side Carl as a fishery officer for many years. We trained at the RCMP Depot together. He had a passion for the work we did and he taught me, a relatively new comer to Canada, a lot about the west coast and it's environment. Carl recognized individual qualities and none so more than in Max Tscharre. Max and Carl were a team and together they taught so many young recruits back in the 70s and 80s what fisheries enforcement and management was about. Thank you Carl for your guidance and wisdom. Be at peace."

~Scotty Roxburgh

"I had the good fortunate to work with Carl as a young fishery Officer in Vancouver Sub-District. His immense personality was well known by fishery officers and fishermen along the BC coast. Farewell to the original Bravo 50."

~Tim Young

"Carl (Bravo 50) will be missed by all of his friends and colleagues who worked with him at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He was a dedicated tenacious Fishery Officer who loved his job and who did the very best everyday he was working to protect the fisheries resources of the West Coast. Carl we are with you in spirit and we extend our deepest condolences to your family."

~Cheers, Dennis & Darlene Brock

"I miss You so much Dad. I know you are Proud of Me and are with Me as I walk my chosen path. I know we will meet again and You and I can share stories of our adventures. I Love You Now, and Forever."

~Kurt Kennedy

"Our thoughts are with your family as you mourn the passing of your Dad, Grampa and Great Grampa. What a tremendous loss for your family."

~Love and Hugs, Laurie and Dave Fanning

"It is with sadness that I share the news of the passing of retired Fishery Officer Carl Kennedy. I know that there are not many of us currently still working as Fishery Officers in the Region who had the pleasure of working with Carl, but I will always remember him as an Officer who loved what he did, was proud to wear the uniform, and who didn’t let much get in the way of him apprehending a violator, although he usually provided a junior Fishery Officer the opportunity to do the paperwork. Thanks to Scotty, Lenore and Robert for passing along the details of the obituary. We’ll miss you Carl."

~Herb Redekopp

Carl Kennedy, 2010