John F Haley, Age 66, of Mattapoisett died November 9, 2013 at home after a brief illness. He was the kind and loving husband of 46 years to Shirley (Grisinger) Haley.
John was born in Worcester, Mass., and was the son of the late Francis D. Haley and Louise M. (Creeron) Haley. He was raised in Sandwich and lived in Mattapoisett the last 40 years. He was fond of saying he never lived too far from the Cape Cod Canal.
John has three sons, Robert Haley and his wife Jennifer Haley of Mattapoisett, Mass., John Michael Haley and his wife Michelle Haley of Westerville, Ohio, and Benjamin Haley and his wife Lee-Ann Haley of Fairhaven, Mass.
John has a brother Daniel Haley of Sandwich, Mass., and two sisters Luanne Nugent of Andover, Mass., and Colleen Hewins of Westborough, Mass.
John has 6 grandchildren, Nicholas, Gabriella, Connor, Hudson, Molly and Willem and one great granddaughter, Haley Eliuk. He also has numerous nieces and nephews.
John gave countless hours to the Mattapoisett community. He co-founded the Mattapoisett Youth Athletic Association and loved working as a volunteer. He was not only a coach of several sports, but the Recreation Director for over 20 years. Over 2,600 children benefited from his coaching and leadership. The Mattapoisett Little League field was name “Haley Field” in his honor.
John enjoyed nothing more than being surrounded by his family and friends at the beach, at cookouts in the yard and at Sunday dinners. His expanded family included his neighbors in the Brandt Beach community where he was very involved in the neighborhood association and was its current president. Many days were spent on the beach with the kids and grandkids looking for sea creatures and floating in the water and many evenings on the beach watching the sunset with friends. He was the commander-in-chief of the 4th of July cookout and enjoyed seeing the crowds of families gathered on the beach to celebrate the day. On quieter days everyone knew the world was right when you saw John puttering in his yard.
John was an avid golfer who enjoyed playing at new courses wherever he and Shirley traveled but he was most at home on his regular Friday golf outings at Rochester County Club with good friends.
John’s favorite vacation spot was the Florida Gulf coast and Sanibel Island. He also delighted in planning surprise trips for Shirley.
John had a long and rewarding career in various aspects of the automotive aftermarket industry where he made many lasting friendships. He prided himself on being able to help family and friends with any car needs.
John was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church where the family was once very involved and helped create the first St. Anthony’s wooden Christmas ornament.
His visiting hours will be held on Friday November 15th from 3:00pm-8:00pm in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday November 16 at 10:30 AM in St Anthony’s Church. Burial will follow in St Anthony’s Cemetery.