October 22, 2025

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

A longtime friend of Father John P. Kennehan, Deacon James Snell of Potsdam said his former pastor helped bring him to the diaconate.

“He had asked me to be on the parish council; I was a trustee for a time,” said Deacon Snell. “Over the years, (Father Kennehan) became a friend. We had a Day of Reconciliation at our church, and there were different priests in different parts of the church hearing confessions. I picked (Father Kennehan). He was sitting right in front of the tabernacle. When we got done, he said, ‘Jim, have you ever thought of becoming a deacon?’ I told him I had thought about it. He said, ‘you should think about it some more. I want you to do that, pray about it and come and see me.’”

Father Kennehan, 89, died October 12 at St. Joseph’s Home in Ogdensburg.

Deacon Snell said he followed the priest’s advice, and he followed God’s call to the diaconate.

“I had my appliance business at the time,” said Deacon Snell. “I had a couple airplanes I was using for business. I decided I didn’t have time for all the studying, so I sold my business and airplanes. Then I had time for studying.”

Deacon Snell said Father Kennehan was part of his life for decades.

“We were just lifelong friends,” he said. “He was very supportive of me, very helpful. If someone asked me to give a quick description of him, I would say, ‘He was a wonderful priest.’ He had a bit of an Irish temper sometimes, but that was an exterior thing that faded quickly. He believed in forgiveness. He believed being sorry meant being forgiven.”

In his later years, when he struggled with health issues, Father Kennehan was still a source of joy.

“For a while, he lived with his sister in Brasher,” Deacon Snell said. “I’d go and visit, and I’d go and take him places. He was always so grateful. He appreciated the attention. When I’d go to see him at the nursing home, he couldn’t see well, but he always recognized my voice. I’d tell him, ‘It’s Jim Snell,’ and he’d say, ‘oh! My protégé!’”

Deacon Snell said he fondly recalls joining a fellow parishioner and Father Kennehan on a pontoon boat.

“We’d go cruising up and down the water,” he said. “He really enjoyed that relaxed atmosphere. That made him really happy.”

Father Kennehan also had a great sense of humor.

“Father Kennehan could also enjoy a good joke; he had that kind of personality,” Deacon Snell said. “There was this lady in Potsdam who everyone loved – Betty Rowe. There was something going on in Lake Placid, and Betty was there, and there were a bunch of priests. Deacon Fred Brousseau and I recognized Betty’s car. We got some police barricades that were nearby, we put one in front of her car and one in back of it, and we slipped a ticket onto the windshield. (Deacon Brousseau) and I were watching from back a few blocks when she came out and saw her car. She started asking everyone around – even total strangers – ‘who did this?’ When she got back to Potsdam, she called every priest she knew and accused them of being part of it. One of them was Father Kennehan. He said, ‘I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but if I was there, I would’ve been a part of it!’”

Deacon Snell said he’d remember Father Kennehan, his friend, as a fun-loving and caring person.

“He was always so welcoming,” he said. “I enjoyed his company.”

Mass of Christian Burial celebrated Oct. 21

A Mass of Christian Burial for Father John P. Kennehan will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at St. Patrick’s Church in Brasher Falls. Bishop Terry R. LaValley will serve as the celebrant, and Father Raymond J. Moreau will offer the homily.

On Monday, October 20, calling hours will be held at Donaldson-Seymour Funeral Home, 4 Cedar Street, Potsdam from 1 to 3 p.m. Father Kennehan’s body will be received at 6 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church. Calling hours will follow until Night Prayer at 8 p.m. On October 21, calling hours will resume at St. Patrick’s Church from 9:30 until 10:30 a.m.

Burial will follow at St. Patrick’s Cemetery with a reception afterward at the lower level of St. Patrick’s Church.

Father Kennehan died on October 12, 2025, at St. Joseph Home in Ogdensburg. He was 89.

Born September 28, 1936, in Brasher Falls, he was the second son of Harold and Ellen (Connolly) Kennehan. After graduation from St. Joseph Academy in Brasher Falls, he attended Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg and Christ the King Seminary in Olean.He received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University in Olean.

He was ordained to the priesthood on April 7, 1962, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg by Bishop James J. Navagh.

Father Kennehan’s first assignment was as temporary parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Church in Plattsburgh. He then served at St. Mary’s Church in Clayton before returning to St. John the Baptist where he also taught high school religion classes. In 1967, he left San Martin de Porras in Mollendo, Peru to serve as parochial vicar and later pastor. After seven missionary years, he returned to serve as pastor at St. Paul’s Church in South Colton and St. Patrick’s Church in Colton. He returned to assist in Peru for 16 months.

Back at home, Father Kennehan served as pastor at St. James Church in Gouverneur followed by the Church of the Visitation in Norfolk. After two years at St. Louis University earning a master’s degree in Pastoral Health Care, he returned to be pastor at St. John XXIII College Community Center while attending Plattsburgh State and earning a master’s degree in College and Agency Counseling. He was then pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Potsdam followed by St. Elizabeth Seton in Dexter and the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Brownville.

His final 10 years in ministry were as Chaplain at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, before retiring in 2013.

Father Kennehan had a passion for travel, reading, especially historical books, large puzzles and golfing. His greatest joy was connecting with people, whether it was his parishioners or family gatherings.

He is survived by his nieces and nephews, Debbie Koes, Nancy Kennehan, Michael Amyot, Jim Amyot and Patrick Stearns.

Father Kennehan is predeceased by his parents and siblings, Helen Sterns and her husband Donald, Mary Amyot and her husband Edgar, and Phillip Kennehan.

Arrangements are in the care of the Donaldson Funeral Home.