London business stalwart John Kime, wife Susan die a day apart

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Married for 55 years, John and Susan Kime died within a day of each other, ending a unique love story and an important chapter of London’s business history.

John, 80, former chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp., was the first to lead the agency when it became a public-private partnership, laying the foundation for modern economic development practice that has won the city major manufacturers and help businesses already here grow.

He died April 2 at University Hospital due to complications from illness and an injury.

Susan, who also had fallen ill, died the next day.

“They were married 55 years, it was quite a marriage,” said their daughter Nicole Kime, who lives in Toronto. “John did not want to go without Susan and she did not want to be alone.”

Susan, 81, died of heart failure. She had been ill with what relatives believe was stomach flu.

“In my mind, that day I was thinking she will process this when she is feeling better,” Nicole said of her father’s death.

John was at University Hospital due to COVID-19 and a fall that fractured his lower back, she said.

Nicole said her mother went back and forth to the hospital every day for two months.

“She was run down and tired,” her daughter said.

John, an avid golfer and London Hunt and Country Club member, was an amateur photographer. He and Susan shared a love of travel, forged in their early years together when John taught accounting in Paris, France, for a year. As testament to the partnership that would define their marriage, Susan sold her car so they could afford the trip.

They often returned to France, with their children, to enjoy the food and culture.

“This is a big loss for us, but she would not have wanted it any other way,” Nicole said of her parents’ passing.

John and Susan are survived by their children, Charles and Nicole, and several grandchildren.

John attended Trinity College School and Western University. After working as an accountant for Clarkson Gordon in Toronto and Paris, he returned to the family accounting practice in London.

“Family was always a foundation, part of our lives. We would go to our grandfather’s farm in Ilderton and (be) surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins,” Charles Kime said.

John is known to Londoners for leading the LEDC, helping attract new industry – companies such as Brose, Keiper, Starlim-Sterner, Magee Reiter, Copperweld, Intier, Transform and Thyssenkrupp Budd – to London from 1998 to 2007.

Susan attended Havergal College and the University of Toronto. She later studied cooking at the Cordon Bleu in London, England.

Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be held at a later date.

“He loved being a bridge between the old guard and the new. He loved making a contribution to the city,” Charles Kime said. “He wanted (LEDC) to be multi-generational and serve the city for a long time. That was important.”

In the 1990s, London business titans such as Earl Orser, Peter Maurice and J. Allyn Taylor wanted an economic development office separate from the city. The city agreed and Kime was named chief executive.

“They gave the keys to John Kime and he made it a success,” said Vijai Lakshmikanthan, chief executive of Starlim-Sterner who worked with Kime in those early days.

“He never gave up. There were some tough times, but he fought tooth and nail. I learned so much from John. . . . He was all about developing relationships and that was how you got investment. He was a great mentor. He will be missed.”

John retired from LEDC in 2007, then established his own consulting firm.

“John created strong relationships in key markets, such as Germany, and we keep attracting more investments from Germany thanks to those relationships,” said Kapil Lakhotia, chief executive of the LEDC, who was hired and mentored by Kime.

“Being a seasoned business professional, his approach to site selection and development was very focused, very methodical. I learned a lot from his business acumen.”

ndebono@postmedia.com