John W. Birely, Jr., 78

January 12, 2018

John W. Birely, Jr., 78, of Lancaster, and formerly of Altoona, passed away on Friday, January 12, 2018.
He was the husband of Gabrielle “Gay” Eckenroth Birely, with whom he shared 32 years of marriage this past December 14th. Born in Altoona, he was the son of the late John W. and Betty Vipond Birely.
John had served as the supervisor of Stanley Electric in Altoona for many years. He later worked for 30 years for Caterpillar, Inc. of York, until his retirement in 2005.
He was a member of Long Memorial United Methodist Church in Lancaster.
While residing in Altoona, John was a member of the Altoona Jaycees, where he served as president from 1970 to 1971. He was a member of the Heidelberg Country Club, the Bavarian Aid Society and a member of Masonic Lodge 281. He was a 1957 graduate of Altoona Area High School, and was active on the 1957 reunion committee as well as the all-reunion committee and had served as an officer with the AAHS band and majorette booster clubs. He was a member of the Hawk Gunning Club in York. He was also a Penn State football season ticket holder.
In addition to his wife, Gay, John is survived by his daughters: Janet (Curt) Cranmer of Seabrook, TX and Jackie (Herb) Blair of Livermore, CA; his stepson Jim (Martha) Brown of Harrisburg; his grandchildren: Julie (Rocky) Holly of TX, Doug Ellis of Altoona, Jaime (Justin) Lewis of CO, Lauren Blair of CA, Rebecca Blair of CA; his stepgrandchildren: Aaron Brown of PA and Carolyn Brown of PA. He is also survived by his great grandchildren: James (Lauren) Mays of TX, Justin (Robbye) Mays of LA, Jarrett Mays of TX, Jackson Mays of TX, Darren Ellis of PA, Devyn Ellis of PA, Elayni Ellis of PA, and Jhett Lewis of CO; his great great grandchildren : Jacob Mays of LA, James W. Mays of TX, and John Mays of LA; and his sister-in-law Linda Birely of Altoona. He was preceded in death by his brother William Birely, his sister Diane Kaczmarek, and his brother-in-law Frank Kaczmarek.
Friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service on Monday, January 15, 2018 at 1PM at Long Memorial United Methodist Church, 2660 Lititz Pike, Lancaster, PA. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in John’s memory to the Water Street Rescue Mission, 210 S. Prince St., Lancaster, PA 17603.