John Paul Bourdon

John Paul Bourdon passed away August 4, 2025 at home in Leonardtown, MD following a short illness. John was born October 6,1952 in Chicago, Illinois. He was preceded in death by his parents, Albert Eugene (Gene) and Frances Menard (Fran) Bourdon, his sister Anne and brother, Mark. He is survived by his wife, Claudia Leininger Bourdon, daughter, Sarah Ciupek (Andrew), son, David, two sisters, Mary Lou Bailey (Butch), and Denise Spadaccia (Larry), brother, James, in-laws Richard Leininger (Pat), Lisa Leininger Kennedy (Roger), David Leininger (Cathy), Kevin Leininger (Dawn), Robert Rector (Lucille), Joseph Rector, deceased (Linda), 17 nieces and nephews, and 21 great nieces and nephews. John's greatest passions and joys were his children and extended family.

John had a rich and varied career including service as a volunteer fireman in the Cobleskill (NY) fire department, truck driving for his parents Oil and Tire supply store, and a stint in the Naval Reserves before going to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to earn a degree in electronics engineering. While at RIT, John met his pal, Larry Spadaccia who later became his brother-in-law when Larry married John's sister Denise! After graduating, John moved to Southern Maryland working with several local companies before overseeing electronics communication for the Department of Defense, and later, USAID until retirement in 2014. Along the way, John discovered a life partner. Claudia was a college friend of his sister, Mary Lou and a frequent visitor to the Bourdon family. Shortly after moving from New York to Maryland, John and Claudia were married. They were blessed with two wonderful children, Sarah and David. John enjoyed the fellowship with the Knights of Columbus Council of his parish and took pride in maintaining the church cemetery and grounds. Following retirement, John and Claudia enjoyed traveling, visiting almost all of the continental US states, Europe, Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, China and Southeast Asia. John had wide ranging interests and hobbies that he delighted in sharing with family and friends: cooking, beer brewing, woodworking and, especially, boating and fishing on the Chesapeake. John and Claudia hosted a large family Thanksgiving dinner every year, during which John would deputize friends, siblings, nieces and nephews to chop peppers and onions to make his celebrated hot pepper sauce. John loved playing with words and could not resist a good pun (or a bad one). John was known for having a story for every occasion. And, if he didn't have one, he made one up.

A memorial mass will be celebrated in his honor on Thursday, August 28th at 12:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. The mass will be held at his home parish of St. Francis Xavier Church in Newtowne, MD. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network).org/donate" rel="sponsored">PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network).org/donate, or through the mail at 2101 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 3200, El Segundo, CA 90245.