John F. "Jack" Taaffe

John F. 'Jack' Taaffe, 79, Bradenton, died March 4, 2012. Born in Boston, Massachusetts he moved to Bradenton in 1989 from Ramsey, New Jersey. A Veteran of the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he served on the U.S.S. Columbus. He was a Eucharistic Minister at Ss Peter & Paul the Apostles Catholic Church, a member of the Knights of Columbus, American Legion Kirby Stewart Post 24, and Mas-ter Gardens. He was past president of the Hibiscus Society, past state president of Rhode Island As-sociation of Retarded Children, a Ramsey New Jersey Councilman, and past police and fire commissioner in Ramsey, N.J. Predeceased by son, John F., Jr.; survived by wife, Dorothea of Bradenton, Fla.; sons, William of North Port, Fla., Michael of Sarasota, Fla., Edward of St. Louis, Mo., and Francis of Bradenton, Fla.; brother, Kevin of Pontre Vedra, Fla.; sisters, Sister Maureen of Boston, Mass., Joan Taaffe of Jacksonville, Fla., and Karen Robinson of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; eighteen grandchildren; two great grandchildren. Visitation 6:00-8:00p.m. Wednesday March 7, 2012 at Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209. Service 9:30a.m. Thursday March 8, 2012 at Ss Peter & Paul the Apostles Catholic Church 2850 75th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209. Memorial donations may be made to North Port Fire Fighters Benevolent, 4980 City Center Blvd. North Port, FL, 34286 or TideWell Hos-pice, Inc. 5955 Rand Blvd. Sarasota, FL 34238. Online condolences may be made to www.brownandsonsfuneral.com.