John A. Kelvin's Obituary
John A. Kelvin, age 67, of China Twp., and formerly of St. Clair Shores, passed away at home on January 17, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.
He was born on February 23, 1958 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to the late George and Carol Kelvin.
He married Barbara Hobart on July 27, 1985 and they enjoyed many loving years together.
During his college days John studied journalism and political science at California State University, Fullerton and Santa Rosa College. He honed his writing skills at the school newspapers and went on to become a staff writer for the Tri-County News in Fenton, Michigan and also for the Spinal Column Weekly newspapers. John worked as a freelance writer for several publishing groups including the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. One memorable piece was a story in Sea Classics magazine about the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell in Michigan. He opened his own magazine group focusing on the automotive industry and yachting and featured several articles well ahead of their time. An article on electric vehicles was published some 30 years prior to the popularization of EV’s today. He transited into automotive parts and started his own company, Ascent Transit, in 2015, that specialized in air-disc brakes. Always the innovator, John designed several novel parts to improve efficiency and safety of air-disc brakes and was awarded two patents. He served as CEO for 6 years until the sale of the company to ACR Air Disc and remained on as CEO and an executive partner.
John was an adventurer and a true outdoorsman. He was a world traveler for both business and personal pleasure. John enjoyed camping, hiking, fly-fishing, biking, scuba diving, fossil collecting, meteorite collecting, panning for gold, and mountain climbing, successfully summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro and reaching Mt. Everest Base Camp.
John had high moral values and would not hesitate to help those in need. John volunteered with MCREST where he would counsel and offer guidance to the homeless. He also conducted Bible study groups at the Macomb County Jail. He was very devoted to his Episcopal faith and served on many committees over the years as well as a Eucharistic Minister.
Thanksgiving was his most cherished holiday. Always surrounded by friends and family, it was about being thankful for family and for the gifts already in one’s life, and not wishing for more.
Family time was spent with Movies, Board games, Paint ball, Fishing in the pond, Treasure hunts and celebrating Birthdays and Holidays. A family trip to Hawaii was a lifetime memory. He also took trips with his Grandsons to Italy and then Alaska to celebrate when they graduated from High School.
He is survived by his loving wife; Barbara Kelvin, daughter; Wendy (John) Fick and grandsons; Cameron Fick and Brendan Fick.
He is also survived by his brothers; David (Nikki) Kelvin, Bruce (Pam) Kelvin and Doug (Patty) Kelvin, along with many nieces, nephews, friends and business associates.
Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Young Funeral Home, China Twp. To leave a message of comfort please visit: https://www.youngcolonial.com.
The family is grateful to the doctors, nurses, and staff at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. Memorials in John’s name are suggested to, the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, 1500 E. Medical Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 or MCREST 215 S. Main St., Mt. Clemens, MI 48043.
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