Tilton, NH – Kennedy Ralph Shibles Jr, 88 of Tilton, NH passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on March 14, 2026.
Kennedy was born in Franklin, NH, 8 weeks early on June 24, 1937, and weighed 3.5 pounds. He came out a fighter and remained a strong person for the rest of his life. He lived through many incidents that would have killed most people, but he survived them all.
Kennedy was raised primarily in Franklin and Boscawen NH. He was predeceased by his wife of 65 years, Margaret (LaPlante) Shibles, his parents, Kennedy R Shibles Sr and Laura (Leboeuf) Shibles, his younger brother Craig Shibles, and his great granddaughter Riley Evangelo.
Kennedy attended schools in Penacook, NH and graduated from Penacook High School in 1957.Ken and his high school sweetheart, Margaret were also married in 1957. Together they embarked on a life of love, adventure, hard work, faith and commitment. They cleared some land in Canterbury, NH and started building their dream house by hand, not realizing that the dream would never end. They spent many years tinkering and puttering, always trying to improve their beloved homestead. Their home was always the gathering place to many family and friends. Eventually they had to downsize and lived in Tilton NH for the remainder of their years.
Ken worked at various jobs, sometimes 2-3 jobs at a time to support his family. His employment for close to 40 years was as a mental health worker at the NH State Hospital. Ken will be most remembered for his generosity, lending a helping a hand to anyone, his gift of gab (he could talk for hours!!), his ingenuity for creating inventions to make life easier or better, and last but not least his love of Heinz ketchup
Ken leaves his children, James Shibles and wife Betsey of Claremont, NH, Scott Shibles and wife Lauren of Penacook, NH, Pamela (Shibles) Washburn and husband Kevin of Tilton, NH and Wendy Evangelo and husband Tom of Northfield, NH, His grandchildren: Lily, Jacqueline, Derek, Abby, Jessica, Travis, Caitlyn, Rebecca, Jacob, Brandon, Alex and great grandchildren: Griffin, Ashleigh, Daxton, Rhys, Kaiden, Trinette, Landon, Blake, Tanner and Alexander.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2026 at The Barn at Bull Meadow 63 Bog Road Concord NH 03303 from 2-5 pm for all family and friends.
The family would like to thank the Franklin VNA and Hospice for their loving care and the Thibault-Neun Funeral Home for assisting the family with arrangements.
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