John Robert Lafferty

John R. Lafferty, "Rob," was a thoughtful and compassionate husband, father, brother, son, and friend. He had a strong passion for following the Philadelphia Phillies and, besides getting married and the birth of his daughter, one of the best days of his life was Oct. 21, 1980 when they won the World Series at 11:29 p.m. He loved baseball almost all his life and enjoyed bringing his daughter, Kaeleigh, to Phillies games, where sharing a Tony Luke's sandwich would become a tradition.

Rob also loved all things music and believed the good songs were written before 1979. In his later years, he began taking guitar lessons and joined the band, "Sonic Boom," shaping him into an ambitious, skillful musician who was always eager to learn and improve. Recently, Rob was able to check off an important item on his bucket list when he got the opportunity to join his brother Matt on stage.

As the second youngest of eight, his siblings certainly showed him tough love growing up and in the midst of provoking him, he always told them, "I shall endure the pain." Rob carried this same attitude long enough to complete the Philadelphia Independence Marathon in 1983.

His life changed forever when he was set up on a blind date with a young woman named Kara on July 8, 1989. Their 27 years of marriage was blessed by the birth of their daughter in 1999 and four irreplaceable dogs, Kate, Lucy, Jackie, and Nina.

Rob is survived by his siblings, Anne, David (Roxane), Sheila (Reid), Paul (Kim), Matt (Tenley), Chris (Bob), and Liz (Joe), and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Charlotte Lafferty.

Services celebrating 54 great years will be held privately due to Covid-19.

Sweeney Funeral Home,

Riverside

www.sweeneyfamilyroom.com