James Howard Kidd III

James Howard Kidd III "Jim/Papa" of Yalaha, FL and Brockville, Ontario, passed away on Sunday January 15th. Born in Rochester, New York March 11th 1929, he was the son of the late J. Howard Kidd Jr. and Elzabeth Lyon Kidd. Married to Sharyl Street Kidd, January 18th 1958. Jim passed away peacefully, just shy of their 65th anniversary, Sharyl at his side and surrounded by family. He was 93 years old. Jim is also survived by his son James Howard Kidd IV wife Christine and their children James Howard Kidd V and Grace Marie Kidd; son William Bartlett Kidd and his children MacKenzie Blair Littrell husband Justice Littrell and Skylar Elizabeth Kidd; and son John Weedman Kidd wife Laura and their children John Andrew Kidd and Cole Michael Kidd. He was predeceased by his four siblings; Gale, Anne, Edmund and Elzabeth. He graduated from Loomis School in Connecticut. He served in the US Navy from 1951-1953. He worked at John B. Pike and Son and later as a purchasing agent at Alloy Supply Co. in Rochester. After retirement Sharyl and Jim moved to Florida in 2003. Jim had a wide circle of devoted friends in his native Rochester, NY area, Florida and the Brockville, Canada area, where he and Sharyl had spent all their summers at their cottage on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands. Jim was a true man of the river. He loved boats. Over the years he had several; from rowboats to a Sailfish to outboards, inboards, canoes, sailboards and sailboats small and large. He even built a small sailboat for his grandchildren. Jim was often seen wearing his sweatshirt with the quote from “The Wind in the Willows”, “There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”. He often sailed to Brockville to compete in the weekly races there, knowing that where he finished mattered less than the fun of it all. Jim took every opportunity to invite friends aboard as he expertly sailed the tricky currents and shoals of the sparkling blue St. Lawrence, using the navigation charts permanently imprinted in his brain. Under his watchful eye, he often let his guests try their amateurish hands at the tiller. With his happiest smile, he would lean back, and muse that "it would take a lot of this to kill a man!” Jim was a kind and friendly man, and a handy one to know. He was always ready to help fix a water pump or start an outboard. If you needed a tool, he would generously loan you one from the large well-equipped tool boxes that he toted back and forth each year between Florida and the cottage. His many hobbies included a usually fruitless quest to land one of the river's rare muskellunge, using his extensive collection of over-sized muskie trolling lures. His biggest prize muskie was the one he carved himself from the trunk of a large pine tree next to his cottage. Jim believed in regular exercise and for years went for very early morning rows in his skiff. He later moved happily to the joys of riding a recumbent bike around his Florida neighborhood and on the riverside bike paths in Canada. In his younger years, Jim hunted ruffed grouse and woodcock in the old orchards, woods and alder runs south of Rochester and east of Lake Ontario. His companions often included family, dear friends and various dogs. He was a skilled shot with his favorite Browning 20-gauge gun. A memorial flag was flown at half-staff in Jim's honor at the community clubhouse near his home in Florida. Jim had a knack for making people feel they were special. A nephew commented, "the thing is, he made everyone feel that way". On occasion, Jim organized treasure hunts and other activities for kids, which had them roaming all around Fernbank, and even rowing to search nearby islands. Although Jim meant so much to so many, his true love was his family. They were his greatest joy and made him the most proud. Arrangements entrusted to Beyers Funeral Home of Leesburg, Florida.

James Howard Kidd III

March 11, 1929 - January 15, 2023