John Reilly

John Reilly, 91, West Hartford, CT died peacefully at home surrounded by loving family on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Born on October 1,1932 in Clonoose, County Cavan, Ireland to Bridget (Donahoe) and Edward Reilly. He was predeceased by his dear wife of 61 years Mona (Mary Smith), and his siblings Hugh, James (Jim), Patrick (Packie), Anna, and Rosetta, and is survived by his beloved sisters Josephine (Josie) Brennan and Kay Smith. Aside from Josie and Kay, he leaves his treasured son Edward (Ed) Reilly and his wife JoAnne; treasured daughter Veronica Maas and her husband Wayne; cherished grandchildren Ryan Maas, Patricia Maas, Catherine Righenzi, her husband Paul Righenzi, and John Maas; his treasured daughter Rosemary and her husband Kevin; cherished grandsons Kyle, Conor and Jack Buttigieg; and adored great grandchildren Chloe and Jack Righenzi. He left home at the age of 16 to pursue a career as a carpenter. In Ireland, he worked for his uncle Brian, a funeral director, where he had his first carpentry apprenticeship building coffins. After a couple of years, he moved to England and then to Toronto, Canada, where he continued to hone his carpentry skills. In 1958 he moved to America and settled in Queens, NY. Soon after that he met his wife Mona at a dance on a Sunday afternoon at New York City Center in Manhattan. They soon fell in love and married on December 26, 1959, moving to Long Island a couple of years later, where they raised their family and formed many friendships. John had a very successful career as a carpenter and worked for H.M. Hughes Company in New York City, eventually rising to be a superintendent and continued to do that for the remainder of his career. He was a proud member of the NYC Carpenters Union Local # 257. John had the good fortune to retire in 1991 at the age of 59. Two years later he and Mona moved to West Hartford, Connecticut where they enjoyed the lifestyle that they had always dreamed of. Always sociable, John quickly formed friendships throughout his new neighborhood. Keeping and caring for their home and beautiful gardens also made John very happy. He spent countless hours planting and weeding and trimming their gardens. For many years he enjoyed growing vegetables and had a large patch of strawberries the grandchildren delighted in picking and eating. He could often be found in the garage where he kept many of his tools and would potter around for hours. He also had a large workshop in the basement where he toiled away during the colder months building furniture and completing many wood working and home improvement projects. He was a hard worker and a perfectionist at heart - everything was sure to be straight and level. As much as he enjoyed his home, he was most delighted by his children and grandchildren, and most recently his two great grandchildren. In his convalescence over the last three years his world had been lit up by regular visits from his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Until this year he enjoyed regular phone calls with his surviving siblings who reside in Ireland and England and many friends and former coworkers. John was a beautiful soul. He was a loving and loyal husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle, neighbor, and friend to many – he will be deeply missed. Please use below link for streaming: https://youtube.com/live/1EZmdzglJ34?feature=share