John Michael Maher

It seems impossible to find the right words to sum up the life of John Michael Maher. Some great descriptors have been used: polyglot, bon vivant, physician, Navy veteran, staunch progressive, classicist, author, wit, optimist, intrepid traveler, arts supporter, sports enthusiast, human encyclopedia, dynamo. But even those great and vivid words can’t hold a candle to the life and the memory of John. He was 65 when he died on August 7th, 2021 with family by his side. He had not accomplished all he had wanted to, yet what he had accomplished is notable.

John Michael Maher was born to John F. “Jack” and Virginia “Ginny” (Maier) Maher in Teaneck, New Jersey on November 4th, 1955, the second of five children. John was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.

A 1973 graduate of Holy Trinity High School in Westfield, New Jersey, John considered himself very lucky to have many lifetime friendships from those days. He excelled in academics and demonstrated an early, great facility with languages. He attended Rutgers University, graduating in 1977 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Biology. He received his M.D. diploma from New York University Medical School in 1981, did his residency in Radiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and completed a fellowship in Nuclear Medicine at Columbia University. A Navy scholarship student while in medical school, John went on active duty following his fellowship and served 22 years as a Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Physician. His posts included San Diego, Oakland and the NATO base in Keflavik, Iceland, as well as several Temporary Active Duty (TAD) assignments around the world. He very much enjoyed the months spent on the Mercy hospital ship on a humanitarian tour of the South Pacific, visiting exotic locales while screening for tuberculosis, among other tasks. He retired with the rank of Commander, and expressed the opinion that while he enjoyed working in his areas of specialty while in the Navy, he truly enjoyed teaching the residents and helping to ensure that the Navy’s strong Radiology Teaching Program would continue to supply excellent doctors in all the Imaging subspecialties. Following his retirement from the Navy, John worked for Virtual Radiologic (vRad) for over ten years.

During his junior year at Rutgers, John took a detour and decided to study in Germany, at the University of Konstanz—quite the unusual choice for a pre-med student. There he met a fellow American student, Gloria Smestad. They were able to maintain their friendship through college and John’s medical school years and were married on January 2nd, 1982. John and Gloria shared a love of languages, reading, travel, theater, film and music. John was a very proud and devoted father to Justine, attending nearly every t-ball, soccer, softball, water polo and swimming event she participated in from age three through high school. John surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a big fan of family pets, first Brindle (poodle), then Horace (domestic feline) and the sweet and beautiful Tundra, a husky, sometimes known as “The Mayor of Eastlake”.

In March of 2020, the unthinkable happened—John was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), confirmed by his own reading of the CT scans. Though he battled through every treatment form available to him—surgeries, radiation therapy, a clinical trial and multiple other chemo agents in various combinations—he ultimately succumbed to this terrible disease which robbed him of his keen mind, his prodigious memory, the opportunity to fulfill his lifetime dream of obtaining a degree in Classics, his vibrant and unique personality, his mobility, and his enjoyment of life. Yet he did not complain, nor did he ever express self-pity.

John is survived by his wife, Gloria Smestad; daughter, Justine Maher; siblings William, Elizabeth, Anne and James Maher; nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins and many friends and colleagues. John dearly loved his family and enjoyed vacationing with siblings and cousins in New Hampshire, Ireland, England, Arizona, the Cayman Islands, California, Italy and Spain.

Able to gather friends throughout his lifetime, John was very grateful that so many of them were there for him after his diagnosis and during his final days. The family remains eternally grateful to all those whose companionship and kindnesses helped us and John through this time. His warmth and good will towards others will never be forgotten, as will his ability to encourage others to try new things, go places they have never been and, out of the sheer joy of learning, explore complex ideas.

In the Navy the parting phrase is “Fair Winds and Following Seas”. For John we wish all that and more. We hope that his participation in research on GBM will result in better, more effective treatments, longer lifespans post-diagnosis, and eventual cures for this devastating form of brain cancer—and all other forms of brain cancer. The family requests that donations may be made to the National Brain Tumor Society, Partners In Health, or the charity of the donor’s choice.

John, may your brilliance live on, may your zest for life be remembered by all who were fortunate enough to have known you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

μὴ μὰν ἀσπουδεί γε καὶ ἀκλειῶς ἀπολοίμην, ἀλλὰ μέγα ῥέξας τι καὶ ἐσσομένοισι πυθέσθαι.

Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter.

Homer, The Iliad, 22.304-305

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A visitation for John will be held Sunday, September 5, 2021 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Pacific Beach – La Jolla Chapel, 4710 Cass Street, San Diego, CA 92109. A mass will occur Monday, September 6, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 8200 Gold Coast Dr., San Diego, CA 92126. A committal service will occur Monday, September 6, 2021 from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Dr, San Diego, CA 92122.

Serving as pallbearers are Kieran Borcich, Declan Borcich, Philip Claussen, Rodney Dunseath, Jameson Maher and Nicholas Maher.

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