John Kinnear

On July 14, 2021, John graduated to his next estate and adventure and was reunited with his loving wife Shirleen. John Gilbert Kinnear Was born in Salisbury Rhodesia, August 19, 1930. To the end he was a proud Rhodesian who became an American patriot. His parents were James Robertson Taylor Kinnear and Dorothy Kinnear of Salisbury Southern Rhodesia.
John attended Allan Wilson High School and was in the Rhodesian army at a young age. At 22 he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.John’s conversion was, he said, the most significant choice he had ever made in his life. He emigrated to the United States where he met his beautiful wife Shirleen in Payson,Utah. Payson was for John, a Norman Rockwell painting of all that is good in America.
He attended BYU with a two year intermission serving in the US Army in South Korea where he became a proud citizen of the United States. He came home and married Shirleen In the Salt Lake Temple August 22, 1956. Together they raised six children.
John earned a Masters degree in journalism at the University of Utah. He worked in advertising and taught communications classes at three different universities. While at BYU he managed all performing groups. He arranged and personally booked the totally self-funded international tours of South America, Europe, South Africa and his homeland Rhodesia. John’s combined BYU and Church Office employment spanned 25 years. He traveled the world with his employment.
Johns humblest achievement was found in the seventeen years he sat in what he called the Hot Seat” behind four LDS prophets while coordinating general Conference broadcast from the Salt Lake Tabernacle. John personally was involved in being part of the planning and implementation of the Churchs first General Conference satellite video conference. He witnessed and was part of a tremendous communications explosion and part of those pioneering efforts in his days of church employment.
John and Shirleen served in the Greece Athens Mission where John was assigned to head up the public relations efforts. They also served together in the Bountiful temple For over six years.
John was a lover of the written word and loved to learn. He also loved to write. He wrote several movie scripts and unpublished books. He also loved to garden and spend hours at the gym. He was a master storyteller and loved a captivated audience. He would have others mesmerized with his Rhodesian accent telling stories of his adventures growing up in Africa, his conversion story and of coming to America, and his years associating with many prophets and apostles.
He is preceded in death by his loving wife Shirleen whom he called his Liahona” and his daughter Debbie. He is survived by his two sons and three daughters (John Scott, Dorothy Ann, Michelle, Shawn, and Heather) 24 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, July 19, 2021 at the Bountiful 41st Ward, 33 South Moss Hill Drive, Bountiful, where a viewing will be held from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment-Payson City Cemetery.