
John F. Cronin, decorated Veteran, retired Brockton Firefighter and husband of Alice (Cassidy) Cronin, passed away on August 1, 2023, just shy of his 75th birthday, surrounded by his family after a period of declining health, battle with leukemia and a traumatic brain injury.
Born in Brockton on August 10, 1948, to the late D. Leo and Rita P. (Condon) Cronin, he resided in Brockton for 45 years prior to relocating to Raynham for the remainder of his life.
John was a graduate of Saint Patrick’s grade school, Cardinal Spellman High School class of 1966 and Massasoit Community College where he earned an associate degree in Fire Science Technology.
Shortly after graduating from Cardinal Spellman, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served 4 years during the Vietnam War and was awarded both the National Defense and the Vietnam Service Medals and was honorable discharge from the Navy,
John was employed by the City of Brockton, Department of Public Works. His desire to become a Brockton Firefighter came to fruition in 1984 and he thoroughly enjoyed his job, coworkers and being a proud member of IAFF Local 144. He was employed part-time by Russell & Pica Funeral Home for several years.
A notorious and sometimes obnoxious Notre Dame football fanatic, John also enjoyed the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots. He was a continuous member of the Brockton YMCA for over 40 years, where he had many friends.
In 2010, John’s esophagus ruptured, and he was hospitalized for several months. As a result of medical complications, he was rendered totally blind. Due to this, he rarely left the house, which affected his quality of life. He was unable to do the things he loved, such as seeing the faces of his loved ones and watching his grandchildren play sports, all of which broke his heart and his spirit.
Throughout his life, John was an avid reader, however after his vision loss, he relied heavily on audiobooks and Amazon Alexa to provide many hours of listening to books by his favorite authors, news, weather, and a variety of information.
As a devout Catholic and former alter boy, John was a communicant of Saint Ann’s Church, Raynham, Saint Patrick’s, Saint Coleman’s and Our Lady of Lourdes, all of Brockton.
A man known for his quick Irish wit, humor and joke telling, he laughingly described himself as “an overall great guy!”
John was preceded by his parents and his brothers Dennis and Thomas Cronin. John is survived by his wife of 45 years, Alice (Cassidy) and their children: Elizabeth and Joe Spearin, Maureen and Paul McCormack, Sean and Jennifer (Kellogg) Cronin and Michael and Laura Marie (Yafrate) Cronin. Grampy to Dylan, Jacob, Noah, Maria, William, and Patrick all of Raynham. He is survived by several cousins, nieces, nephews, cherished close friends and his grand dog, Bogey. He was the brother-in-law of Ned, Ann, Paul, Larry and Gerry Cassidy.
The entire Cronin family would like to acknowledge the kindness shown to John by Beacon Hospice, especially Rebecca, Samantha, and Lucie.
Visiting hours at Russell & Pica Funeral Home, 165 Belmont St., (Rt.123) Brockton on Friday, August 4, 2023 from 3:00-6:30 PM, concluding with a funeral service at 6:30 PM. Interment with military honors will be held at a later date at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Brockton Firefighters Relief Fund, PO Box 3341, Brockton, MA 02304-3341.
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