John T. McGovern

Dad was born in NY in 1929. He was the son of immigrants from Ireland who was always very proud to be of Irish decent!

He grew up with his parents and his three siblings; Eddie, Maureen, Eileen in Bellerose, NY. After high school he joined the Army to serve his country and take advantage of the military benefits to help pay for his education. He played basketball at Champlain College, graduated from the University of Michigan and received his MBA from USC.

Dad was a true adventurer. When he was young, he hopped a train to Alaska because he had little money but always wanted to see it! He was a lifeguard at Long Beach Island and loved to swim in the ocean his whole life. He was an Eagle Scout and an accomplished outdoorsman. Dad took us camping, backpacking, canoeing, fishing and taught us both water skiing and snow skiing. His true passion was tennis which he played into his 80s!

His family was always his priority. Our Dad was an incredibly selfless person. He had an amazing sense of humor with a very dry wit, (loved Monty Python), was never sarcastic and in his later years, was known for really corny Dad jokes!

Our parents were married for over 56 years before our Mom, Mary, passed away seven years ago. He spoke about her everyday and how she had the prettiest blue eyes in the world! She was the true love of his life. We are so happy that they are now together once again probably driving each other crazy :)

Jack is survived by his three kids, Debbie, Mark and Rob; late son-in-law John W. Lyon; two daughters-in-law, Kelly and Jamie; eleven grandkids, Kelly, Tommy, Katie, Michael, Marie, Jake, Nick, Madison, Taylor, Jack and Wyatt; late grandson-in-law (husband to Kelly) Andy Borkowski; and one great granddaughter, Kameron

We’ll miss you and love you very much, Dad xo