John “Bozo” Kennedy was honored at a UNH hockey game this winter thanks to a suprise from his family.
John “Bozo” Kennedy, 88-year-old UNH graduate and former goalie on the men’s hockey team, recently gained some national notoriety in a fashion usually reserved for people a couple of generations younger – he went viral online.
Kennedy is a proud Wildcat alumnus who tries to attend at least one hockey game per year. But this year his family surprised him by adding his name to the list of alumni recognized during the game – and flying almost the entire family out to share the special moment with him.
His granddaughter, Kailey Cullen – also a UNH graduate – documented the surprise when the family met Kennedy at a local restaurant and when Kennedy appeared on the Jumbotron at the game, posting a TikTok that has earned more than 112,000 views and sparked a write-up at People.com.
The surprise worked to perfection, as the People story notes that Kennedy told Cullen it was “one of the best days of his life.”
"It feels amazing knowing we’ve created such a lasting memory for him," Cullen told People. "I know we’ll be talking about this for a while. We've all watched the video many times, and it just brings a smile to my face each time."
Check out the full People article for the entire story, as well as links to the social media video that made Kennedy an octogenarian internet sensation.
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Compiled By:
Keith Testa | UNH Marketing | keith.testa@unh.edu
