Obituary of John F. Upton

Please feel free to view or upload any of your own photos of John at https://photos.app.goo.gl/JqjUQPnJZq6YVoqH7 For those who are out of town please follow this link to view the Funeral Mass on St. Philip the Apostle website at https://www.stphiliptheapostleparish.org/ Passed peacefully on July 19, 2022. John is the beloved husband of Christine (Nowak) Upton; cherished father of Virginia Upton; loving son of the late John F. Upton Sr. and Gloria (Mannes) Upton; and loving brother to Denis (late Donna) Upton and Devin (Sue) Upton. He is survived by numerous cousins, nephews and loved ones. Friends and family may call from Friday, 4-7 PM at the JAMES W. CANNAN FUNERAL HOME, INC., 3155 Orchard Park Rd., Orchard Park, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday at St. Philip the Apostle Church at 10 AM. Please assemble at the funeral home at 9 AM to join the procession. {The funeral Mass will be live streamed, at www.SPAPARISH.org } DESCRIPTION OF JOHN F. UPTON • He wanted to be known as a curmudgeon like W.C. Fields or “long haired hippie freak.” But he loved deeply and was very sensitive. • He was humorous and made up many silly songs (most were “off color.”) • The Grinch was his hero. • Hobbies: hunting, fishing (ocean and inland waters), helping populate the hunting areas in Connecticut with pheasants, and the streams with trout. Also skiing and hiking. • John was a volunteered in the fire dept. and local ambulance. • He had College Degree as a Civil Engineer but later specialized in training for computer work in insurance companies. He totally switched careers at one point. • Elderwood workers enjoyed having him. He joked with them often. They described him as special. • Due to his diagnosed social anxiety, he made only a few close friends. • For the length of our marriage John was a tried-and-true Naturist. • Sometimes described as brilliant guy. Wherever we traveled he’d treat us to lessons of the history, geology, and architecture of that area. • He internalized his negative anxieties but was very aware of the family’s stressed lives. John loved his family, summers on Cape Cod, nature, woodworking and beekeeping. He was an avid reader and lifelong learner, studying the Humanities as well as earning degrees in Engineering and Computer Science.