John McGrath
John Joseph McGrath (known as Jack to many of his family and friends) of Sherman, CT, passed away on Sunday June 12, 2022 at New Milford Hospital surrounded by his family after an extended illness. He would have been 96 years old on June 18th. John was a native of Lissavilla, Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland and for the past six years has resided in Sherman CT. John was predeceased by Elizabeth, his loving wife of almost sixty years; and is survived by a sister, Catherine (Kitty) Collins of Blauvelt, NY; his two sons, Kieran and his wife Debbie of New Milford, CT and Declan and his wife Doreen of Brewster, NY; as well as five grandsons, Brian, Sean, Connor, Brendan and Liam; as well as a granddaughter-in-law, Pia; and a great-grandson, Rory.
John emigrated from Ireland to New York City in 1949 and was proud of both his Irish heritage and his adopted country of America. Soon after arriving, John enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard as a member of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment, the “Fighting Sixty-Ninth”. As an Irish-American, he loved that it was the 69th that leads the parade up Fifth Avenue every Saint Patrick’s Day. He was also very proud that two of his grandsons were veterans of the U.S. Army.
John had a life-long affiliation with the Transport Workers Union. He began driving a bus in New York City in the mid-1950s, first with Fifth Avenue Coach, and then later with Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA). His bus driving days behind him, he would go on to work for nearly twenty years with the Transport Workers Union and was always a strong proponent for worker’s rights.
John and his wife Elizabeth married on June 14, 1958 and lived in Flushing Queens for almost thirty years where they were active parishioners of St. Kevin’s Church. Upon his retirement, John and Elizabeth spent the next twenty-five years splitting their time between winters in Boynton Beach, FL, and summers in the Northern Catskill Mountains of New York where they were active members of the Irish American Community, especially with the MJ Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre in East Durham, NY, and as a member of the Knights of Columbus.
In 2016 he and Elizabeth relocated to Sherman, CT, to be closer to family. Elizabeth passed away in February 2018, and for the last four years, John lived with his grandson, granddaughter-in-law and great-grandson, where he was an integral part of the family. The family would like to thank the Nursing and Medical Staff of New Milford Hospital as well as his beloved caretakers Krystana Pappes, Diane Meadows and Lorie Jo Knapp for the outstanding and compassionate care over the last year.
A viewing will be held on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at Lillis Funeral Home, 58 Bridge Street, New Milford, CT, from the hours of 4:00pm to 8:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11am on Thursday, June 16th at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in New Fairfield, CT. A private family interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York, will be held on Friday, June 17th.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the MJ Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre in East Durham, New York, in memory of John and Elizabeth McGrath. https://mjqirishcentre.com/donate/