John Wesley Kingsbury

John Wesley Kingsbury, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Wednesday, December 21, 2022, after a long battle with skin cancer.  John was born to the late Viola and Carl Kingsbury, of New Haven, Missouri, on September 8, 1941.  He attended New Haven High School where he played basketball and was on 4 state championship winning teams.  John was inducted into the Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame for his talents on the basketball court and held the scoring record at New Haven High School for 30 years.  While attending college in Springfield, Missouri, John married Frances “Gail” Kingsbury, of Washington, Missouri, on November 25, 1960.  Before moving to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1983, John and Gail lived in Washington, Missouri for 23 years. 

In 1961, John began his life-long career at AT&T.  After retiring from AT&T, after 36 years of service, he consulted for Sprint and Lucent Technologies.  John continued to work various odd jobs after retirement, including Macy’s and O’Reilly Auto Parts. After his basketball career, John became an avid runner and when he was not participating in sports, he was watching sports-most recently taking pride in the Kansas City Chiefs new-found success.

John is survived by his wife of 62 years, Gail; sister, Beverly Roberson of Washington, Missouri, two children, John Philip Kingsbury and Jill Suzanne Kingsbury, both of Kansas City, Missouri; as well as four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.  The body was cremated and the memorial service is private.  Please make donations to your favorite charity in memory of John in lieu of flowers to the family.