Lifetime waterman John T. Keenan has died. The cause of death was unspecified; Keenan was 57 years old.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1963, Keenan started his life on the water fishing and surfing on Long Island’s South Shore.
After high school, he attended the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, which led to his life as a seaman, circling the globe numerous times on some of the world’s greatest ocean-going vessels.
In 2012, he joined his brother Chris in Connecticut at Essex Marine Group, where he befriended many on the Active Interest Media team (Passagemaker is published by Active Interest Media.)
“This is a tremendous loss to the boating community — John was one of the good ones, among the nicest people I’ve ever met in this business,” said AIM marine group president Gary DeSanctis. “My sincere condolences go out to his brother Chris and his extended family.”
In lieu of flowers, the Keenan family has asked for donations to be made to Mystic Seaport.
Click here to read Keenan’s full obituary, to share a memory or send condolences to the family.
