John C. McKernan was a man of few words and yet, left the biggest impact on those around him. He didn’t do it by being the center of attention, nor being the loudest guy in the room, it was subtle and long-lasting. When he met our mother twenty-six years ago, she was just the older sister of his best friend and single mother of two children and yet, he managed to make and mark that lasted the rest of his life, most notably on her two children, Megan and Sean. He didn’t have to look onto these children like his own and he certainly didn’t have to love them unconditionally, and yet he did and once again, with little words. They were never treated any differently than his own two children, Jonathon and Desiree, that followed in the subsequent years that followed. He loved all of his children and grandchildren the same, working tirelessly day in and day out, so that they could have everything in life that he didn’t. Love and security was more important to him than the flashiest of toys, despite always making sure the loves of his life had plenty of that as well. He was the biggest kid, leading the wat in Nerf gun wars that would last for hours. We can still hear his laughter echoing around us as he managed to get one of us in the nose with a dart. His presence is still with us and that is something that death cannot take away. And while he would have been the last one to want to leave the love of his life, Bridget, behind, he would have been more than proud to know that his death was not in vain. His love for his wife and family lives on now in others.
