Brilling, John Albert "Jack"
GLENS FALLS — John Albert “Jack” Brilling of Glens Falls passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. He was 91 years old. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, the former
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Gloria Canale; his daughter, the Honorable Jaclyn A. Brilling, and his son-in-law, Dr. Michael Horgan; his brother, Phillip Brilling Jr. and sister, Mary Kellogg; five grandchildren, John B. "J.B." (Smriti), Alison, Michael "Mickey," Andrew (Christine), and Matthew Horgan; two greatgrandchildren, Siobhan (JB) and Vance (Andrew); dozens of nieces and nephews; and many close friends. He is also survived by hundreds of stories, humorous quips, and jokes that have already been passed down through generations. He joins in eternal rest his father, Phillip Brilling Sr.; his mother, the former Genevieve Hall; his sister, Helen "Joyce" Hartung; and life-long best friends, Ulisse "Sonny" and Alfred "Jiggs" Canale.
Jack was a 1947 graduate of Glens Falls High School, having attended at some point every then-existing public elementary school in the Glens Falls School District. Prior to graduation, he served with distinction in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II, including at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He worked at Finch, Pruyn & Co. in Glens Falls for 37 years, rising from laborer to management before retiring in 1987. He was a fourthdegree Knight of Columbus and a loyal parishioner of St. Alphonsus in Glens Falls for four decades, where he (and Gloria) founded and then ran bingo night, managed the parish bazaar, co-chaired the parish’s Bishop’s Appeal fundraising, and served as parish trustee for many of those years.
He and Gloria began second careers in 1987; both took early retirement options and moved in with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. Jack and Gloria were a second set of parents for their grandchildren, with Jack specializing in chauffeur, model/diorama/ woodworking, and school project duties. Known as Popi and Noni, they were fixtures volunteering at pizza lunch at the Montessori School of Albany, and in the stands at Christian Bothers Academy basketball games, for almost 20 years. Additionally, Jack built a summer home in York Beach, Maine, where he and Gloria spent every summer with their grandchildren, teaching each of them to drive, as well as to play golf.
He lived every day in accordance with Christ’s command to love one another and provided all who knew him with a clear exemplar of a man committed to the Catholic faith in both word and deed. He will be missed greatly, but will live on in our memories; we know that we will see him again one day.
Family and friends may call from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, February 21, at the Regan Denny Stafford Funeral Home, 53 Quaker Road, Queensbury. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 22, in St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 95 Fourth Ave., Albany. Burial will be in the spring in St. Alphonsus Cemetery, Queensbury.
Donations in Jack’s memory may be made to St. Fran- y y cis of Assisi Church, 391 Delaware Ave., Albany, NY, 12209 or The Peter G. Young Foundation, Inc., 428 Duane Ave., Schenectady, NY, 12304.
Those who wish may make online condolences at sbfune ralhome.com.