Obituary of John A. Blenkhorn

Follow link to watch livestream of Jack's Funeral Service.

John “Jack” Blenkhorn, a lifelong Burlington resident and “retired” owner of Arcadia Landscaping, passed away peacefully on Monday morning, March 31, 2025, surrounded by his family. He was 74 years old.

Jack was born in 1950 at Winchester Hospital. The son of Robert and Florence (Kerrigan) Blenkhorn. He grew up on the family farm, “Kerrigan Bros Farm,” which was purchased by the family in 1920. The farm spanned Winn Street from Peach Orchard Road to Locust Street and was the largest celery producer on the East Coast. It was a true family business, where everyone worked together to care for an active farm that operated until 1958, when the family sold the land, including the land where Marshall Simonds Middle School was later built.

Jack was a proud member of the Burlington High School Class of 1968, where he played quarterback on the football team. He stayed in close contact with his high school friends, was a member of the reunion committee, and met monthly with classmates at Café Escadrille under the guise of a reunion meeting. Jack went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Massachusetts.

Jack worked for several farms & landscapers in the area including: Spence, Heimlich, and BLI, before starting his own company, Arcadia Landscaping, in 1978. He began with residential and commercial properties, and sanding. Over the years, he worked alongside his brother-in-law, Kevin Gallant, and later his son, Rob. For the last twenty years, he specialized mainly in golf course maintenance. While Jack enjoyed playing golf, he was much better at restoring golf greens. He was known for his old-school business practices, where his handshake was as good as his word. In his free time, Jack was always working on projects in his garage, whether tinkering with equipment, restoring golf carts and sanders, or even flipping cars. He was always willing to take risks or try something new—like selling hovercrafts, or when he nearly opened an aquaculture fish farm in Canada with the Wilson boys.

Jack's life revolved around his family. He loved teaching and introducing his family to new experiences. There were trips to visit close family in St. Stephen NB, and Prince Edward Island, as well as cruises in the Caribbean, and countless other memorable adventures. His family knew they could always count on him for support, whether they needed help with a project or simply some guidance or words of wisdom. Some of his proudest days were watching his grand-daughters play sports in the old celery rows which was now Brush Field, or going to violin concerts in what was the old cow pasture.

Jack always looked on the bright side. His deep voice, firm demeanor, nickname of “The Hulk”, and sarcastic humor might have intimidated some, but underneath was a heart filled with kindness. Jack lived a wonderful life, following his passions, surrounding himself with family and friends, and living life to the fullest. He will be lovingly remembered.

Jack was the loving father of Angel Wilgus & her husband Phil of Lunenburg, Rob Blenkhorn of Burlington, Kristel Hammond & her husband Tom, Jr. of Burlington, and Evie Doyle & her husband Chris of Burlington. He was the devoted younger brother of Jean Gallant and her husband Kevin of Burlington. He was the proud grandfather of Cole, Ryan, Graham, Kailie, & Morgan Wilgus; Madison, Peitynn, & Aubbrie Hammond; and Haleigh, Sophie, and Chloe Doyle. He also dearly loved his two nieces Sandie Gallant and Karen Mehigan & her husband Kevin, his loving partner Anita Vouros and her son Jack Dillon, and his loving ex-wife CarolAnn Wagstaff. 

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington on Thursday, April 3 from 4-7 p.m.  Funeral services will be held at the Sullivan Funeral Home on Friday, April 4 at 10 a.m. Services will conclude with a burial at Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Burlington. 

Memorials in Jack’s name may be made to People Helping People/Burlington Food Pantry, 21 Murray Ave 01803. 
For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net