Fairport: May 13, 2016, at age 31. A kind warmhearted loving man. Survived by parents, John & Betty; sisters, Heather & Marieke & Jessi Meyer; his brother, Lorien; grandmother, Angela Magowan; many aunts, uncles & cousins. Predeceased by his grandparents, John & Jean Jerabeck, and Edward Magowan; and cousin, Joshua Becker.
Calling hours, Thursday, 5-8 PM at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home, Egypt location, 7501 Pittsford Palmyra Rd., Fairport. Funeral Mass, Friday, 12 Noon at St. John of Rochester Church, Fairport. Interment, White Haven.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to NAMI-Rochester at namiroc.org or to East House at easthouse.org.
Eulogy for John Francis Jerabeck IV
St John of Rochester
May 20, 2016
Thank you for joining us today to celebrate this mass of Christian burial for my beloved son, John Francis Jerabeck IV. Family and friends sometimes jokingly called him Johnny the Millionth…a pun on his being the 4th John in our family. He always rolled his eyes and chuckled at that one. In the next few minutes, I will share a few anecdotes that give you an idea of how much he meant to us.
In his early years, John demonstrated a precocious musical ability. He would hear a jingle on TV and then fool around on the piano until he figured out how to play it. Later on he studied the guitar and focused on learning a style of playing called Finger Picking. At the Viewing yesterday, you heard a number of those songs that John could play beautifully.
John also had a wonderful voice. We found this out during a family vacation in Florida that we took during his middle teen years. One evening, it was Karaoke night around the pool. As his mom, Betty, and I approached; we heard the unmistakable beginning notes of the song “Stairway to Heaven”. We were amazed to recognize John’s voice singing that classic song. It is a difficult tune, describing a kind of spirit quest, a journey in search of meaning in a world of ambiguity. It gives us comfort and peace to think that John has now climbed his own Stairway to Heaven.
As some of you know, John struggled greatly during his late teens and twenties. However, during that time, John’s love for his family never wavered. Likewise, his siblings and his mom and I kept him involved in our lives and treasured the times he could be with us. Whenever possible, John spent time visiting us at home. He really enjoyed family trips with us to Rhode Island to visit his beloved grandparents and other relatives. He also enjoyed trips to see my brother Bob, and his family in Skaneateles, NY. John loved his sisters and brother and his mother and me – a love we felt whenever he could be with us.
Throughout his life, John was interested in the Bible. As a young boy he enjoyed bible stories – especially those about Moses, the Exodus from Egypt and the Israelite’s quest for the Land of Milk and Honey. The classic Ten Commandments movie, with Charlton Heston playing Moses, remained one of his favorites for his entire life.
John’s questing heart led him to investigate various religions. Eventually he found the Catholic Church and began to study seriously. He was baptized into the Catholic faith at St Boniface in 2009 during the Easter Vigil. He came to truly love Jesus and the Church and had a special devotion to Mary, praying the Rosary daily. In Rochester, he attended Our Lady of Victory church as it was within walking distance of his apartment. He made a concentrated effort to attend daily Mass and his faith continued to grow. He also believed it was part of his faith to help others and during these years he volunteered at several Nursing Homes, food banks and homeless shelters.
John’s desire to live near his family became a reality when he moved back to Fairport last January. He was healthy and happy and it was a wonderful time for John and our entire family. He loved cooking and his eggplant parmesan was a particular specialty that I enjoyed. He bought a car and enjoyed a full independent life. John often spoke of his desire to be of service to others. We saw him continue to grow in his faith as he looked for ways to serve this church community. He was especially happy when he became a Communion Minister. Thank you for warmly welcoming my beloved son John into your congregation. He truly felt at peace here at St John of Rochester Church.
Delivered by his father John Francis Jerabeck III
Comments
13 responses to “Jerabeck, John F. IV”
Miss you Johnny
I love you and miss you brother, wish we could get some Denny’s breakfast tomorrow, but I’ll eat some extra bacon and eggs for you. Xoxo H
My brother,
Johnny, I love you so much! You were the best brother one could ever hope for.
Whenever you could be, you were there for me. You were so kind and loving and joyful. I love how you loved watching funny movies and getting dinner with your family; how you weren’t, “Too cool” for that. I loved playing video games with you, watching old cartoons with you… I really wish I had hung out with you more, you always offered and I too often had to cancel due to things that looking back now we’re not as important as the missed time I could have spent with you. I wish I hadn’t let growing up and adulthood separate us.
I loved the family times we all had together, the holidays, vacations, dinners. Every day I remember a new Johnny story and it brings me great joy mixed with sadness.
I wish I could have been your nurse, I wish I could have saved you.
I love you Johnny, forever. Please enjoy your time in heaven, you have definitely earned it.
I look forward to seeing you again someday, pet the cats for me and say hi to all our loved ones.
<3
Love you so much Lorien.
Love and miss you Heather.
I just met you a few weeks ago at the new Porsche 911 unveiling. I remember thinking at the time what a nice young man. Way too soon to leave us.
You and I go back a good decade. It didn’t take long for me to find out what a kind and generous person you were when my driver’s license was suspended for 90 days. You were right there to take me to meetings and bring me home again. That, alone, was a power of example to me because I had to ask myself if I should do any less if called upon to give help to one in need. It was only the start because your love touched everyone who met you and you were there for them even if they did not want to hear what you had to say but desperately needed to hear what you had to say. You minced no words! These were teaching moments for me.
You will never know what an honor it was for me when you asked me to be your God Father and Confirmation Sponsor on your conversion to the Catholic Faith. Your love of God was all over you and I will so miss our Theological conversations. They made me think a lot. Your prayer life was something to behold. I believe your are now with God, someplace you so much wanted be. I believe your are now is a great place to pray for us and help us through the rest of our lives, again something you loved so much to do.
Yes, John, you worked you way into Bernie’s and my lives and hearts. The world is a much better place because God saw fit to bring you to us. We will miss the pasta and cauliflower dinners and the movies (especially the religious ones with you lying on the couch with a nice blanket keeping you warm. The couch was perfectly sized for you and you looked so comfortable there).
The world will miss you, my Godson, and I hope you know how much you are loved by all who had the privilege to know you.
Although we had lost touch over the years, I will always fondly remember the great times we had. Among others: Sega in the basement (or even Atari), baseball in the backyard, J&L’s pizza, carrots and ranch, skateboarding in the driveway. Many great times through the years that I will always remember. You will be missed.
-Jason
Johnny,
I have so many fond memories of our childhood on Clifford st. Whether it was playing baseball in our yard because the fence made it perfect for home runs, or drawing cartoons, sleepovers, or climbing trees. Having moved away from New York many years ago it is easy to slowly forget where you came from. But I’ll never forget all the things that you did that made my childhood as great as it was.
I know that you had your struggles and I wish that there was more I could have done. Hopefully as a society we will continue to evolve to better understand, respect, and help one another. I hope you’re in a better place.
John – I didn’t even know your name until today. How many times at Adoration did I see you there? I always sat in the back row – you were always two rows ahead. You struck me as such a warm hearted and kind young man. I’m sad to know I won’t see you there again… I will think of you every time I step into the little chapel at St. John’s. God Bless you John.
John,
I will miss you. We were always impressed with John’s knowledge of the bible. He knew the old testament stories like the back of his hand. Finally we asked him how he knew all this stuff, and he explained that he memorized his Children’s Bible. He is a man who loved his faith and practiced it.
He was also a gifted musician he would practice for hours and I had the privilege of hearing his stuff and writing music with him around 2007 and 2008. I say this because he rarely if ever played in front of anyone. He recalled a recital as a child that did not go well! Perhaps his family may recall.
Most recently he and I would do adoration at St. Theodore’s in Gates, every Sunday night. Because he was living downtown and I on the west side of the city it was easy to grab him and go after my kids were in bed. He was a devoted catholic and would constantly pick my brain about matters of faith and morals. I looked forward to our time together each week and he did as well.
I am saddened to reckon that we will never fellowship as we did again, but he’s got some new and better things going on now, where I pray he will spend eternity with his Benevolent Maker.
And I am sure that he is praying for us all that we, his family and friends will join him there, he is a prayer warrior always has been
God bless you John, I’ll see you when I see you, pray for me and I’ll pray for you!
Brett Lighthouse
I want to play Sonic with you Johnny, I wish you were here.
Hey John.
I used to see you at weekday Mass at Our Lady’s.
What a surprise it was to see you at Mass at St John’s in Fairport after we moved from the West side of Rochester this January.
I haven’t seen you at Mass for a while and I called St. Johns and was told you had a meeting the Lord.
I will pray for you and your family.
Maybe now you are in a good position to mention to the Blessed Mother that I could use some help getting my boys back into the Church and frequenting the Sacraments.
Thank you.
GOD bless you and your family.
Robert P