John A. Morrison, 91, passed away on the evening of January 11, 2022 after putting up a valiant fight against vascular dementia. He was born on May 27, 1930 to James and Madge (née Donaghey) of County Donegal, Ireland. He was raised in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in Incarnation parish where the wonderful memories of his childhood provided him much joy & comfort in his later years.
John was a proud American and served his country during the Korean War as a paratrooper in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. During his time in the Army when he wasn’t jumping out of airplanes, he was also a Golden Gloves boxer. Upon his return home, he worked at A&P Supermarkets until he joined the NYC Department of Sanitation. He worked as a ‘San Man’ for over 30 years where he was behind the truck, in the garage, and snow-plowing the streets of NYC. During one of his collection routes in 1972, he and the guys on his truck ran into a burning house and saved multiple family members.
Throughout his life, there wasn’t a sport he didn’t play and excel at. Life couldn’t get any better than a Sunday playing football or softball at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx. Even in later years when neuropathy affected his mobility, you could still find him at the gym working out and swimming over a mile every day well into his mid-80’s.
John will be remembered for his kindness & happy nature, his strong work ethic, his love of family & friends, his fondness for scratch-off tickets & Lotto cards, his willingness to lend a helping hand, his love of singing & dancing to1940’s music, and of course, will be remembered for those amazing blue eyes.
John is survived by & will be missed dearly by his daughter, Rita, and is predeceased by his wife, Dorothy, in 2017. He is survived by his sisters Margie Kane, Grace Rezac, & Eileen Stephan; and his brothers, Patrick and Frank. He is predeceased by his sisters Mary Duchene & Kathleen Delaney; and his brothers Sonny, Barney, & Danny. He is survived by too many nieces and nephews to count. He is predeceased by his first wife, Mary, and survived by their children PeggyAnn, James, and Sean along with their grandchildren & great-grandchildren.
Visiting hours will be on Monday, January 17th from 3:00-7:00pm at Whalen & Ball Funeral Home in Yonkers. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Sacred Heart Church in Yonkers on Tuesday, January 18th at 11:00am. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in John’s name to The Tunnel to Towers Foundation; an organization which supports catastrophically injured & fallen veterans and first responders. A special thank you to Elsie Thomas for her amazing care of John (and Dorothy) these last few years.
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