John Joseph Maher III

John is survived by his wife, Debra; two sisters, Nancy Maher Sperling, with whom he had a special relationship as he called her “Baby Sis” and she called him “Big Bro”, and Patricia Maher Cosenza; niece, who was more like a daughter, Renee Clark, her husband Bill, and their sons, Matthew and Jason; and numerous other family members and friends.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John J. Maher, Jr., and Edith Gum Maher, and his twin brother, James “Jimmy” Phillip Maher.

Born on April 30, in New York City, NY, John lived at 105th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. John’s paternal grandparents were from Ireland and immigrated to NYC during their teen years. His mother’s family has been in the US since the 1600’s, with most relatives living in Virginia. During elementary school, John and his family moved to Palisades Avenue in Union City, NJ, where John attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and St. Michael’s High School. While at St. Michael's two of his favorite activities were track and art club. After graduation, John served in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Texas and Michigan, where he was trained on computers and I.T.

John had a talent for developing computer software and had extensive hardware knowledge. His career included working at Blue Bell/ Wrangler and Lab Corp-where he worked in payroll and developed inventory software that was used for many years. While working at Alamance Regional Medical Center he was trained in and utilized a software system for hospital doctors and was involved with a patent to receive “one time information” data on a protected site. John was a manager at a stock brokerage, and a certified tax preparer at Tax T. After retirement, he worked at Fresh Market, worked with a paralegal to give legal assistance to those in need, and most recently was pursuing a pharmacy technician certification. John had many other talents.

John volunteered to help his wife, Deb, at all times throughout their marriage. One of the first jobs Deb had was a teacher at Our Lady of Grace Catholic School. The first time John volunteered to help the class was “quite the experience”. When John and Deb got married, her students sang at their wedding and the following year they called him Mr. Hanson. At another school where Deb taught, the students called him Mr. John. He volunteered to work with students on the computer. He also brought his golden retriever, Charlie, to class to demonstrate dog care. At St. Paul’s Catholic Church, he was a lector, usher, ministered to others, and helped Deb when she coordinated the 3, 4, and 5 year olds on Sunday morning.

Another interest Deb had was dancing. She enjoyed ballet well into her adult years and John volunteered in dance class as well. The dance instructor got John to support the other dancers during class. John joined the stage crew at recitals, where he helped the young ones on/off the stage, also helping them find their stage placement. The first year he called them the “dinky pinks” due to the pink tutus they wore.

John and his twin brother, James (Jimmy), shared a love of running. They trained together and ran numerous 5k and 10k races. In 1982, they ran the NY Marathon together. John loved animals and birds. He helped “lost” animals and one time he helped a large “puppy” be rehomed to a farm. John called the puppy “Bear” because he weighed 150 lbs. John also had a great sense of humor and was described by Deb’s Aunt Barbara as “Robin Williams”. John was someone who would go to parties with his wife, not know a single soul, but before he left would know everyone.

A celebration of life service will be held at 6 pm on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at Hanes-Lineberry Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the service until 8 pm.

Found memories and expressions of sympathy for the Maher family may be shared at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com