John A. Laurence

Fairport, NY:  Beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather, John Laurence died on January 5, 2022 at age 74.  He spent his last days, as he lived his life, surrounded by family and friends.  John was born in Warren, PA, attended Haverford College and Penn State and raised his family in Fairport, NY.

John was stationed in Turkey and Ethiopia as a language specialist for the Army.  He worked for Xerox for 29 years in marketing.  Upon retirement, he felt privileged to serve as a sommelier, bartender and jack of all trades for several years at The Green Lantern Inn, their family-owned restaurant and banquet facility.  He enjoyed travel, theater and golf and was an avid, insightful reader.  John had an outstanding facility with languages and was an excellent travel companion. He always had a kind word for everyone and loved spending time with his family and friends.

John felt it was important to give back to his community and was an active volunteer.  In this regard, he devoted time to Rochester Writers and Books [Board President] and worked as a Rochester Literacy Volunteer, where he also served on the Board.  He was a volunteer for Perinton Food Shelf and Fairport Canal Days, and served as a volunteer and Board Member for the Fairport Historical Museum.  John routinely contributed his time to cleaning-up the Crescent Trail footpaths as a Silver Fox volunteer.

The family thanks the staff at the Palliative Care Unit at Strong Memorial Hospital for their exceptional care.  If you would like to honor John’s life, please make a contribution in John’s name to Literacy Volunteers of Rochester (literacyrochester.org) or to the charity of your choice.

John is survived by his wife of 51 years and high school sweetheart Nancy Laurence, children Jill [Josef Weiss] and Matt (Stephanie), granddaughters Maren and Bridget and siblings Nancy (Boyd Lawson) and Sarah (Dave Stewart).

His family is planning a celebration of John’s life in the summer of 2022.