The following is a statement from NPC Chairman Jim Manion in remembrance of friend and colleague John Kemper. Kemper, an NPC Vice President, NJ State Chairman, Promoter and Judge, passed away last night at the age of 67.
“I lost a dear friend yesterday in John Kemper. First, I want to extend my deepest condolences to his family.
John has been a great friend for over 30 years, a man whose friendship and loyalty to me and the NPC never waived. John played a major role in the organization of the NPC and what it is today. I could always count on John and I knew he always had my back as they say.
John was New Jersey bodybuilding back in his competitor days, then the NPC Chairman for New Jersey and owner of the great Diamond Gym, from which so many great champions evolved.
John was a man’s man who made everyone feel like a friend from the first time you met him and he always greeted you with that firm handshake of his! Yes, my son J.M. said to me today that John still had that firm handshake and J.M. had the pleasure of knowing John for many years.
I could go on and on about John as we shared many good times together over the last 30 years.
My wife Debbie, my son J.M. and the whole NPC organization are deeply saddened today as we all had the pleasure of John’s company for many years.
I will miss John tremendously and always remember him as a dear friend.”
