Canisteo fixture killed in accident:

Well-known village resident always ended conversations with ‘I liked you'

By JEN CARPENTER - Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 10:34 AM CDT

Struck by a car on West Main Street Monday evening and later died at St. James Mercy Hospital.

CANISTEO - A longtime Canisteo resident - and friend to many - passed away Monday following a car-pedestrian accident.

Canisteo police say Jack E. Kemp, 69, was walking in the road on West Main Street, when he was struck by a vehicle, operated by Samuel W. Marts, 83, of Canisteo.

Kemp was transported by Canisteo ambulance to St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell, where he was later pronounced dead.

Canisteo Police Sgt. David R. Crosby said he believed Kemp had been involved in some sort of accident when he was younger, and was somewhat disabled. He said he was unsure of the nature of the earlier accident. He said Kemp had lived in the area his whole life and had no family left.

“He pretty much lived on his own,” he said.

Crosby said he thinks weather conditions played a factor in the accident, noting it was “very dark, and very rainy.”

Canisteo resident Sue Babbitt said she always saw Kemp around town.

“He was always friendly and smiling,” she said.

Carolyn Wallace, who worked as Kemp's caregiver, said Kemp had been a fixture in the Canisteo community as long as she can remember. She said he knew and affected everyones' lives.

Wallace said Kemp liked to help keep the community clean, and would pick up garbage off the streets and throw it away. She said he was often seen at the Little League field, watching practices or helping to clean the field. She said he also enjoyed stopping to visit local merchants.

“He's going to be really missed in town,” she said.

Wallace said Steuben Arc employees checked on Kemp once a week. She said she took him out to dinner and went shopping with him many times. Wallace added he had never hesitated to shake someone's hand and introduce himself.

Wallace said Kemp also took care of his mother's and sister's graves, always making sure there were flowers or a small toy animal for decoration.

“He loved to give little gifts to people,” she said.

Canisteo Town Clerk Nancy McMindes, who attended the First Baptist Church in Canisteo with Kemp, said Kemp was very outgoing and loved to be around people.

“He belonged to the whole community,” she said, adding everyone looked out for him and encouraged him not to go out after dark.

McMindes said her four sons had all grown up with Kemp. She said he liked to visit gas stations and other places just to be around people.

“Any place where there were people, he wanted to be,” she said. “You could stop anybody on the street and they would know Jack.”

McMindes said Kemp never caused any harm to anyone, and was a sweet, innocent person. She said his favorite saying was “I liked you.”

“Jack was like the Canisteo sign, he just has always been here,” she said.

McMindes said Kemp will be sorely missed, and she is still shocked, because she just saw him in church Sunday.   “It still does not seem real to me,” she said.

McMindes said her heart also goes out to Marts. She said this situation would have been extremely hard for anyone from the area who probably knew Kemp.