John E. LaBrode, Jr., 61, of Fairhaven died Tuesday July 27, 2010 at Massachusetts General Hospital after a courageous battle with leukemia. He was the husband of Cecelia G. "Cee-Cee" (Whalen) LaBrode.
Born in Acushnet, the son of Lillian (Perry) LaBrode and the late John E. LaBrode, he lived in Fairhaven for many years.
He was a communicant of St. Mary's Church.
Mr. LaBrode was a self-employed painter and paperhanger who took great pride in his work.
He was a graduate of Bristol Community College and attended Southeastern Massachusetts Technical Institute. He was an avid Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics fan. He had been a bass player with the McCarthy-Richards Band. He loved vacationing and traveling with his family and hanging with the boys at Paul's Sports Corner and the Ice Chest.
His family would like to give special thanks to the Mass. General Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic and Ellison 14 Oncology Unit, and to his brother Alan who was his bone marrow donor.
Survivors include his wife; his mother; two children, Molly E. LaBrode and John E. LaBrode III, both of Fairhaven; two brothers, Alan J. LaBrode and his wife Ann of Hopedale, and Ronald D. LaBrode and his wife Darrah of New Bedford; two sisters, Carol A. LaBrode and her fiancé Phillip Chevalier, and Patricia A. Zussy and her husband Robert, all of New Bedford; and many nieces and nephews.
He was the brother of the late Steven L. LaBrode.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 10 AM at St. Mary's Church, Fairhaven. Visiting hours will be on Friday from 4-8 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Mass. General Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.