Peter Joseph Kannam passed away peacefully at his home on January 9, 2023 at the age of 92 years old. Born August 31, 1930 to the late Joseph and Anne Kannampuzha, Peter was a long-time resident of Andover, Massachusetts and the beloved baby brother in a family of 11 siblings from Kerala, India.
Peter leaves his loving wife of 61 years, Marie, his five devoted children (Joseph, Thomas, Anne, Peter and Catherine) as well as twelve adoring grandchildren (Jesse, Allison, Jack, Julia, Catherine, Thomas, Peter, Zachary, Cole, Isaac, Sebastian and Jacob) and a great grandson, James.
Peter came to the United States in 1956 from Kerala, India to complete his PhD in Physics from Penn State University. After finishing his degree, Peter worked at Westinghouse, RCA and ITT before launching his own research and development firm in 1981, Advanced Device Technology Inc., focused on infrared technology for night vision systems.
While a scientist by profession, Peter’s passion was serving as a volunteer at St. Augustine’s Church. He was honored with the St. Joseph Award for 45 years of service to his parish church in 2019. In addition, Peter loved tennis, teaching himself to play when he first came to the United States. He then passed his love of the game to his entire family, all of whom continue to play.
Faith, family and education guided Peter’s life and he proudly passed those values on to his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. He will be greatly missed, especially his laugh and joyful presence when he was surrounded by the family he adored.
A private funeral mass will be held at St. Augustine’s Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Peter Kannam’s name to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 8 Summer Street, Woburn, MA 01801. Donate Here