Obituary of John J Rourke, Jr

John J. Rourke, Jr, 88, of Lynn and formerly of New York and Peabody, died early Wednesday morning at the Pilgrim Nursing Home following a brief illness. He was the devoted husband of the late Viola (Hilik) Rourke. Born in the Bronx, New York, he was the son of the late John J. Rourke Sr and Ellen (Hartnett) Rourke. He was raised and educated in New York and then graduated from St. John’s University, New York. He later met and fell in love with a Bostonian and upon marrying his wife Viola, moved to Peabody and raised his family. He has spent the last 20 years living in Lynn. John was a veteran of the Korean War who served with the United States Army and was honorably discharged in June of 1952. John was employed as an insurance adjuster for the Aetna insurance company based in Boston for over 20 years before he retired. Following his retirement, John started working independently as a private investigator for several law firms in the area. John enjoyed watching sports, talking politics and enjoyed reading, but his favorite endeavor was spending time with his family, especially with his grandchildren. John is survived by his three daughters, Kathy and her husband Greg Jensen of Groveland, Debbie and her husband Neal Slafsky of Boca Raton, FL, and by Sheila Rourke of Salem, his beloved grandchildren, Jessica and Patrick Jensen and Zachary, Martin, and Kevin Slafsky. Visiting hours will be held on Friday from 4:00 until 7:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody and his Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Margin St., Peabody to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem.