John F. Galvin of Framingham, formerly of Dedham, died peacefully on January 14 at the age of 54 following a brave 16 month battle with cancer. He is survived by his loving wife of 21 years, Paulette, and their daughters Casey and Renee. Son of Jean L. Galvin and the late James J. Galvin, Sr. Brother of the late Karen J. Galvin, Robin Galvin Fink and her husband Joel of Lake Worth, Florida, and James J. Galvin, Jr. of Dedham. John is also survived by nieces, nephews, aunts, an uncle and many cousins.
John was a loyal and respected employee of Raytheon for 32 years working as a radar systems operator. Many of his lifelong friendships were formed at Raytheon.
John, who was nicknamed as "Headly" by his childhood friends from Dedham, was an avid lover of music. John played lead guitar, flute and vocals along with his brother Jim, cousin Ed and friend Chris. His other hobbies included horseshoe tournaments, camping, swimming, and watching sports. He loved all of the Boston teams, but his first love was always the Boston Bruins.
John was a family man, whose greatest joy in life was spending time with his devoted wife Paulette, and his daughters Casey and Renee, of whom he was so proud. They traveled annually to New Brunswick, Canada to visit Paulette's family, and also took trips to Florida. They love camping and spent most summers in their camper at various sites enjoying swimming, making new friends, and listening to John's guitar by the campfire.
Visiting Hours at the George F. Doherty & Sons Wilson-Cannon Funeral Home, 456 High St., Dedham, Monday, January 19 from 2-8pm. Funeral Mass in St. Stephen’s Church, 221 Concord St., Framingham, Tuesday, January 20 at 10am Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment services are private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in John's memory to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445, or at www.jimmyfund.org, or call 617-632-3019. All donations will be earmarked for pancreatic cancer research.