JOHN E. KALISH

KALISH JOHN E. Age 85, formerly of Jenkintown, died Wednesday, July 16, 2025 following a long illness, in Brussels, Belgium, where he had lived since 1968. After graduating in 1963 from Lehigh University with degrees in metallurgical engineering and economics, John was hired by Fischer and Porter, Inc, in Warminster to work in their R&D department. There he developed a range of process control instruments. In 1966 he moved to the company's subsidiary in Germany where he introduced the new products to the German and European markets. In 1968 John joined the Brussels office of Miller Freeman Publications, a San Francisco-based business publisher, as an editor, and rose to become editor-in-chief and publisher. He started the company's information services and conference business, notably - in 1974 – the Forest Products Transport Symposium. He also founded the International Forest Products Transport Association in 1981 and served as its president for 20 years pro bono. Over the years, until he retired in 2009, he worked for other logistics-related companies in various capacities. He was a founding investor in Tresors, Asia's first major art and antiques exposition, in Singapore in 1993 and in Jakarta in 1997. Art also inspired his hobbies: painting, writing poetry, and creating large, colorful, wood sculptures which decorated his home and garden. John was a sailor for more than 30 years. In 1987 he organized the Constitution Race, a transatlantic yacht race to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the US Constitution and the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the constitution of the European community. He entered and skippered the yacht Philadelphia. Its arrival in Philadelphia on July 4th was part of the city's Bicentennial celebration. John's sailing mates remember him as "a very generous person. We became better for having known him." "Lived life to the full and in perpetual motion." "Putting people together to get things done and benefit someone." "A true friend and a loyal soul, devoted to his family, friends, and his beliefs, a Renaissance man of our time." John E. Kalish, son of the late Sari F. and Leonard L. Kalish, was born on June 18, 1940. He grew up in Jenkintown, and graduated from Jenkintown Schools in 1958. He met Townsend Feehan, from Washington, DC in 2001. She, their son Alaric and daughter Lara survive him as do his three younger sisters Lynne, Peggy and Edith, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Two other children, Matthew and Zelda, died earlier as did older sister Eva. His Funeral and Burial in Washington, DC, on September 10th, arranged by Joseph Gawler's Sons funeral home. Donations in his memory can be made to the Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, PA. 19119.