John W. Burghardt

The world lost a great man, and gained a new “Force Ghost” on May 4, 2026. John Burghardt, son of the late John and Anna Burghardt was born in New York City on October 16, 1944. John was a life long student, having earned a Bachelor’s degree from City College, and 2 Master’s Degrees from Manhattan College and Pace University. If you ever saw him out, he was never without his black messenger bag which was sure to have multiple books he was reading concurrently. He was an educator through and through, working for the NYC Board of Education for 36 years. He retired as a math teacher from I.S. 184 in the Bronx. He was instrumental in starting an accelerated math course for the eighth grade students, something he was very proud of. Fun fact, he was actually bad at math when in grade school, but he always strove to learn as much as he could. John loved to read, and loved to talk history. He was also a die-hard Yankees fan, who during even the dark days of the 1980’s, would track their stats. In addition to collecting books, he also collected CD’s, and had quite the eclectic mix. The listening pile frequently saw an opera stacked with Guns N Roses. John was a parishioner at St. Mary’s Church in Washingtonville. He was faithful man, and while living in the Bronx, he was a Eucharistic minister for the elderly who could not make it to church. John was an opinionated man, and very generous. He was also very generous with his opinions. He had a real knack for making bad jokes, which endeared him to those closest to him. He leaves behind his adoring wife, Diane, as well as his children John of Bayonne, NJ, Matthew and wife Therese of Poughkeepsie, Roseanne and husband Joseph of Kingston, and Jennifer of Montgomery. He also had 4 grandchildren, John, Matthew, Samantha and Audrey. He is also survived by his brother Tom and wife Kathy of San Franscisco. He was predeceased by his parents John and Anna Burghardt and sister Anne Marie McMahon. A memorial service will announced at a later date.