Home > United States of America > Iowa > Jasper County > Sams Pioneer Cemetery > John J Gannon

John J Gannon

Birth	:	7 Dec 1914
Death	:	31 Jan 1999
Burial	:	Sams Pioneer Cemetery, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.7472000, -93.3016968
Description	:	Tribute to John Gannon Delivered by RFG at John Gannon's funeral Friends of John Gannon, my family wishes to thank you for being here with us at this time. For those of you who are friends of the family but did not know John Gannon…. thanks for your support. "Thanks for your support." That was a saying our dad often used. He immediately liked it the first time he heard it on a Bartles and James TV commercial. He often told the host of a party or his partner on the golf course… "thanks for your support."... Read More	Tribute to John Gannon Delivered by RFG at John Gannon's funeral Friends of John Gannon, my family wishes to thank you for being here with us at this time. For those of you who are friends of the family but did not know John Gannon…. thanks for your support. "Thanks for your support." That was a saying our dad often used. He immediately liked it the first time he heard it on a Bartles and James TV commercial. He often told the host of a party or his partner on the golf course… "thanks for your support." But most of you here today knew our dad, John Gannon. You had at least one special interaction with John. Maybe it was on the golf course, or at the grain elevator, maybe at the Mingo Mens Group or some school function. It could have been at the state fair, the Farm Field Days or just sharing stories over a beer at the Mingo tap. But you had a personal interaction with John. I would like you to close your eyes for a moment ….. (Pause) …… and focus on the memory of that interaction you had with John. ………And now keeping that special memory in your mind let us awake and be grateful and celebrate for having known the man ….John Gannon. John died on Sunday, January 31, the last day of the month. The sky was overcast here in Iowa but in California there was a clear sky and up there in the middle of it was the most beautiful full moon. Sunday was a blue moon. A blue moon is the uniqueness of two full moons in the same month. A rarity. Hence, the saying "once in a blue moon ". It was befitting that John died on a blue moon. He was a rarity…. one of those kind of guys that you meet "once in a blue moon". John liked people and people liked John. He loved to joke around. I remember the last story he told me. It was about a fellow who had been in a bad accident and lost his entire left side. I asked him how the fellow was doing and dad said "He's ALL RIGHT!" Well John… it looks like you pull a pretty good crowd! And the way I see it you have the best seat in the house. Oh, I don't mean here (pointing to the casket) . Up there. (pointing toward heaven ) Can't you just picture John, right now, up there…. He's up there, sitting next to God at the Heavenly Tap. There he is sitting at the bar, sipping his beer, and elbowing God in the ribs saying, "You know it only takes three things… facility, ability and opportunity." Dad's life focus was his family, his faith, and his farm. If you hadn't been out to the farm in a while or it was your first time he would often entice you into his pickup for a tour of his pride and joy. Once he had you in the pickup he would head up the north lane past his swine herd, under the railroad bridge he reengineered, continuing north past the ponds he built to conserve the land he loved so much. Our dad believed everyone should have a job and would assign the visitor the job of opening gates as he drove you around his 1200 acres. He would always get out at the first gate to show you how to open gates. The first gate was an electric fence gate. He loved pointing at the wire and saying to the first time visitor "Grab that wire". Where upon the unsuspecting newby would grab the wire and be knocked to the ground by the electrical shock. Dad would chuckle, shake his head and then show you the proper way to open an electric gate. Climbing back into his pickup, away you would go across the pasture to see the Angus herd he started as a 4-H project 70 years prior. In the last 10 years the final stopping point on the tour would be to show you his tombstone in Sam's Cemetery. Sam's Cemetery is a little country cemetery; a two acre plot of ground sitting high on the divide separating Indian Creek and Skunk River, surrounded on all sides by farm ground. Bordering on the west is his farm. His tombstone sits in the middle of the cemetery. The tombstone has his and mom's name on the front, along with their birth dates and on the back of the tombstone Dad engraved the names of his fourteen children. From the site of his tombstone he can look down on his farm , a 135 year old family farm that had been lost in the depression but through his ingenuity and hard work was earned back. It is the perfect resting place for John. He will be able to keep an eye down on the farm and know that mom is OK from up there. John and Helen raised fourteen children. Dad was proud of that. Often people would ask him how he happened to have so many children? He would reply "Well, they changed the pope twice but they never changed the rules." Dad often told us kids "If you've got something to do…get at it." He would.. get at it. Whatever he set his mind to do. From inventing a grinding mill to converting his livestock truck into a recreational vehicle. He didn't know how to ride a bike but it didn't stop him from going on Ragbrai 4 times. He didn't know how to swim but it didn't stop him from crewing a small sailboat from Honolulu to Maui and back. He got at a lot of things in his lifetime, while all the time telling folks about how he lived a ‘sheltered life !!' John, thanks for being here. You were a good father, a good person, and a good friend. A rarity. A ‘once in a blue moon' kind of guy. We already miss you, but like the fellow who lost his left side…….. We will be ALL Right! And John ……… sincerely from each of us …….. "Thanks for your support."

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is John J Gannon's memorial?
John J Gannon's memorial is located at: Sams Pioneer Cemetery, Jasper County, USA.
When did John J Gannon death?
John J Gannon death on 31 Jan 1999 in
Where are the coordinates of the John J Gannon's memorial?
Latitude: 41.7472000
Longitude: -93.3016968

Family Members:

Parent

William P. Gannon

(1887 - 1969)

Mary Flynn Gannon

(1885 - 1975)

Spouse

Helen Marie Gannon

(1921 - 2011)

Siblings

Mary E Gannon

(1913 - 1994)

Helen Genevieve Gannon-Meade

(1915 - 1999)

Children

Christopher Gerard Gannon

(1960 - 2006)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Sams Pioneer Cemetery
Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7472000, -93.3016968

2. Greencastle Cemetery
Green Castle, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7431000, -93.2654000

3. Graham Cemetery
Mingo, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7839500, -93.3182140

4. Fisher Cemetery
Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7392006, -93.2508011

5. McKeever Cemetery
Colfax, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7192001, -93.2517014

6. Shipp Cemetery
Oswalt, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6972108, -93.2668723

7. Union Chapel Cemetery
Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7869301, -93.2329025

8. Franklin Cemetery
Franklin Township, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7145267, -93.3807206

9. Ashton Chapel and Cemetery
Mingo, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8163000, -93.2855000

10. Perin Cemetery (Defunct)
Clyde, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8088930, -93.2432600

11. Kintz Cemetery
Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8143997, -93.2514038

12. Farrar Cemetery
Farrar, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8058776, -93.3690155

13. Mitchellville Cemetery
Mitchellville, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6724790, -93.3505460

14. Holy Cross Cemetery
Washington Township, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7934900, -93.4015000

15. Colfax Cemetery
Colfax, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6705704, -93.2432480

16. Slaughter Cemetery
Colfax, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6869011, -93.2091980

17. Iowa Industrial School for Girls Cemetery
Mitchellville, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6606950, -93.3676460

18. Bethel Cemetery
Baxter, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8196983, -93.1980972

19. Church of the Brethren Cemetery
Washington Township, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8347340, -93.4017630

20. Deeter Cemetery
Clyde, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8628000, -93.3128500

21. Rorabaugh Cemetery
Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6666985, -93.1836014

22. Raridon Cemetery
Baxter, Jasper County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8416550, -93.2002032

23. Deeter Cemetery
Collins, Story County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8628006, -93.2514038

24. Bondurant Cemetery
Bondurant, Polk County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6995727, -93.4530705