Quietly, in the early morning of May 26, 2021, John began his journey home to Our Father in heaven.
John was born December 2, 1936 in Dublin, Ireland. He was predeceased by his parents, Eamon and Nora, two brothers, Hugh and Tom. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Shirley (Cherepak), his children, Aedan and Grace (Adrian) along with his cherished grandsons, Liam and Noah. Left to mourn are his four dear sisters, Catherine, Clare, Nan and Eleanore, cousins, many nieces and nephews, extended family and numerous friends. He will be fondly remembered and sorrowfully missed. Sincerest thank you to the Southern Health Palliative Care and Home Care staff who provided support and tools to grant his wish to die at home. Thank you to our family who had the courage to care for John in the last chapter of his life. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you prepare or purchase a meal for someone who is alone, sick or in need of assistance during these trying times. We ask that you join us for a celebration of John’s life and funeral mass. It will be live streamed at Paroisse/Parish Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes on Thursday June 3, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. central standard time.
John was, what I believe is known as, a "first cousin one removed". In our early teens we spent many happy summers in the small seaside village of Bettystown some 48k north of Dublin, Ireland. John, always an elegant and graceful athlete showed early prowess in golf and tennis and earned him many admiring female fans. This sporting ability and his mix of gentle seriousness ,wit and sense of humour first seen then, made John a special person.
We largely lost touch after John went to Canada until I got one of his"out of the blue" phone calls. His great memory - mixed with a wee bit of fiction? - always brought me back vividly into family events involving the McCarron and Moriarty clans.
John always insisted he made the calls as his phone networks low call rates meant we could gossip at length! I met Aeden once on a visit to Aunt Mary - Hi Aeden! - and compared family tree information. I never met Grace and it was a delight to see her on the video link as she so lovingly spoke of John. Anyway John your great love for the the Blessed Mother impressed me greatly over the last years and clearly was a great solace in recent times. No doubt when St Peter 'gave you the nod to enter' she was there arms outstretched with a warm welcome - you deserved it. Gay
