John Fogarty

1931 - 2025

John Fogarty
Rockford Michigan
April 30, 2025
John Joseph "Jack" Fogarty III died peacefully at home on April 30, 2025 surrounded by his family. Jack was born in Yonkers, New York, on April 21, 1931, to John Joseph Fogarty II, then mayor of Yonkers, and Remi Clothilda Gilligan Fogarty. He was the first of five children. His birth, as well as his parents' wedding, was widely reported in the Yonkers Herald Statesman. He attended St. Mary's school and graduated high school from Manhattan Prep School. As a teenager, Jack collected records and memorized many bawdy and delightful songs from the 30s and 40s. He worked odd jobs, including as a longshoreman, while attending Fordham University and Hunter College. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1950, flying dangerous aerial reconnaissance missions as a photographer over North Korea, and was honorably discharged in 1954.
In 1955 he married Edna Marie McManus of Greensboro, North Carolina, in Yonkers. In 1956, with infant daughter Julia in tow, they moved to Greeley, Colorado where Jack taught high school all day, attended graduate school in the evenings, and worked as a hotel desk clerk into the morning hours. He earned master's degrees in both history and English from Colorado State University.
In 1967, Jack and Edna, parents of four daughters, moved to Big Rapids, Michigan and, in 1971, they welcomed their last child, a son. Jack taught English at Ferris State University and for a time was active in the college's theater. He was advisor to a Black fraternity, and provided sanctuary for students at his home, particularly in 1968 during periods of campus unrest. He served on the Mecosta County Commission for many years. In 1987, he co-wrote an acclaimed oral history of the summer Olympic Games going back to 1912 called Tales of Gold. He and his close friend, Lew Carlson, traversed the country, capturing the stories of these amazing Olympians before they died.
Jack and Edna retired to Rockford, Michigan in 1998 and traveled widely in Europe. When Edna was diagnosed with aphasia/dementia, he cared for her until she died in 2018.
Jack retained his long allegiance to liberal ideals and was an astute student of American political history. He was a connoisseur of wine, food and jazz and played a mean harmonica himself. The Fogarty household was a lively, loving and wonderfully hospitable place and often included a myriad of short and long-term guests. Always at the center of the mayhem, Jack was gregarious, charming and unfailingly entertaining. Even at age 93, he could still recite from memory the prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. His Irish wit and way with words will be sorely missed. He is survived by his five children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and one great great grandchild: daughter Julia Teresa Fogarty (Skip Renker) of Petoskey, Michigan; daughter Catherine Fogarty (Dale) Birch of Monument, Colorado; granddaughters Kristen Birch (Justin) Cozart of Monument, Colorado; and Remi Birch (Agustin) Rodriguez of Colorado Springs, Colorado; great granddaughter Lillia Hittle (Hunter Matney) of Castle Rock, Colorado; great grandson Colton Hittle, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; great great grandson Westyn Matney, of Castle Rock, Colorado; daughter Susan Shelagh Fogarty (Brad Arnold) of Midland, Michigan; grandson Nicholas Lee Fogarty (Frank Chu) of Santa Clara, California; daughter Patricia Fogarty (Tom) Ezdebski of Ludington, Michigan; granddaughter Leah Cutler of Grand Rapids, Michigan; grandson Sam Cutler (Megan Pearce) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; son Stephen Patrick (Tara) Fogarty of Rockford, Michigan; grandsons Noah Joseph Fogarty and Luke Matthew Fogarty of Rockford, Michigan; and granddaughter Anna Fogarty (Tell) Carle.