John (Jack) Edward Canny, 87, born June 22, 1929 in Ottumwa, Iowa, devoted son of John & Louise Canny, dedicated older brother to David Canny (deceased) & Janet Goodwin and loving husband for 62 years of Mary Canny, died peacefully amongst family on April 20, 2017. He is survived by his 5 children, Bridget Canny-Faulkner (Ron Faulkner), Stephen Canny (Yolanda Canny), Mary Newton (Steve Newton), Tim Canny (Anne Canny), Andrea Canny, and his 9 grandchildren: Jessica Gaddis (great-grandchild: Alan Gaddis), Timothea Canny, Colin Canny, Sarah Robinson, Thomas Newton, Henry Newton, Emma Canny, Victoria Canny, Declan Canny.                                                                                      

Jack served in The United States Air Force for 4 yrs. where he met his wife, Mary in her native country of England.  Once they were engaged he went home to America to work long, hot hours doing street construction to pay for Mary’s ship fare on the SS Ryndam to get married & start their family.  They raised their children in Wisconsin, Cincinnati, New York and back to Cincinnati where he eventually retired from AT&T as a Systems Analyst in 1988 after 32 years of service where we was a teacher, mentor & friend to so many.

A devoted Catholic and member of St. James the Greater of White Oak since 1975, he was very active in volunteering for St. Vincent DePaul & other catholic charities, as well as teaching computer classes at the church. On his own he would purchase new socks, combs, soap, and other toiletries or save them from airline trips to make supply packets to give to the homeless.  In his later years he was known to give the homeless a chocolate bar, $20 & a couple lottery scratch off cards, as he was always hopeful for people’s prosperity! Jack lived a life of compassion, creativity, love and service.  An avid gardener, he always grew enough crops to donate plenty of fresh produce to the needy or share with neighbors.

Jack was the active father and grandfather that would carry the kids on his back or shoulders playing horsey, help them create a magical land out of a refrigerator box or snuggle up for a good nap on the couch. An extremely creative and giving man, he loved to create special things for his children and grandchildren. Some of the favorites were a Thomas the Tank Engine made from old oil canisters, wooden stilts, seesaws, original Halloween costumes, a time-capsule and even a computer program he created to help his daughter learn Phylums & Genus for 9th grade Biology.

Sharp as a tack with his analytic mind, he loved to relax doing crosswords, Sudoku and Crypto-quips or to just have a laugh at his Sunday funny papers.

Jack was that man who “didn’t know a stranger”, found everyone’s life interesting and always had a big genuine smile to share. A passionate believer in “reduce, recycle, reuse”, he would donate various supplies to the art teacher at Colerain Middle School.  She summed up how Jack showed up in the world so eloquently, “He was about the sweetest soul I’ve ever met, so hopeful & optimistic about the kids today. I was glad to have known him.” Everyone who met him was glad to have known him and he will be sorely missed.  Let his legacy of giving and optimism be our example.

A Memorial Catholic Mass & Reception for John E. Canny will be held at 10:30 AM, Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at the St. James Church of White Oak Cincinnati, OH 45247 http://www.stjameswhiteoak.com

In lieu of flowers, we encourage you to make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at http://www.lls.org/ or Shelter House of Cincinnati at http://www.shelterhousecincy.org or St. Vincent DePaul’s at http://www.svdpusa.org.  The best donation of all would be to make a habit of giving back in any way you can…grow food & give it to the needy, donate your time and talents to anyone, anywhere…and when you do it, think of Jack and smile! That’s Jack’s Way!

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