John J. Czernich, Jr., 74, of Chester, NH passed away Friday, June 23, 2017 at the Merrimack Valley Hospice House, Haverhill, MA after an extended battle with cancer. He was born on November 4, 1942 in Montague, MA, a son of the late Helen (Marynok) and John J. Czernich Sr. and was raised in Millers Falls, MA. He attended Mahar Regional High School. After graduation in 1960, he joined the Navy and served aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. After his Navy tour, he moved to Chester, NH. He was active with the Lion’s Club for many years and was a long-time employee of Foss Manufacturing in Hampton, NH. During his retirement, John ran The Red Pump Farm, a small hobby farm in Chester, NH and spent many hours tuna fishing on his boat in Hampton.
He was survived by his life partner, Susan Burns of Chester, his daughters, Kimberly (Czernich) Vaillancourt of Elkton, MD and Tanya (Czernich) Brown of Hinsdale, NH, four grandchildren, Elizabeth Capri of South Jordan, UT, SPC Timothy Mitchell Jr, currently deployed overseas, Kate Mitchell and Zachary Mitchell, both of Hinsdale; three great-grandchildren, Leah Clark of Hinsdale, Anakin Bianchi of South Jordan, and Norah Patterson of Hinsdale; one brother, Chester Czernich of Millers Falls, MA, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Following cremation, calling hours were held on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 from 5 – 7 pm in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 15 Birch Street, Derry. A Celebration of Life service was held on Thursday, June 29th at 10:30am in the funeral home with Military Honors. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701 or the American Red Cross, PO Box 37839, Boone, IA 50037-0839.