John F. McPoland

Name: John F. McPoland,age 47 Address: 3115 Jackson St. Formerly of: Janesville, WI Time, day and date of death: 9:15 p.m., Saturday, October 3, 2009 Place and cause of death: at home after a 21 month battle with cancer surrounded by family Services: Funeral services will be on Thursday at Holy Ghost Church at 10:00 a.m. Burial: Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Visitation: Friends may call from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Behr's Funeral Home. Rosary/Wake Service: There will be a Parish Wake service said at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Behr's. Date/Place of Birth: John was born on March 1, 1962, in Dubuque, Iowa, son of Robert "Sam" and JoAnn (Brimeyer) McPoland. Brief Personal Information: John graduated from Wahlert High School in Dubuque. He then studied journalism at Iowa State from 1980 to 1985. He worked for 4 years at the Iowa State Daily Newspaper. He then worked at the Spirit Lake Beacon from 1985 until 1986, then at the Boone New Republican from 1986 to 1988, then at the Ottumwa Courier from 1988 until 1991, and was lastly employed for the Janesville Gazette until 2009. John won a 1st place award from the Iowa Newspaper Association, 3 Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards including 2 for sports columnist award of the year. He also won several other Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards for 2nd and 3rd place major events covered including 2 Superbowls, the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin UCLA, 2002 Major League Baseball All Star Game, 2003 NASCAR Championship Weekend, 2005 Daytona 500, Dozens of Packer football games including NFC Championship games and NCAA basketball tournaments. In his spare time John enjoyed playing Texas Hold'em and collecting NASCAR memoriabilia. He was a fun loving man and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. To learn more about his battle with cancer John shared his thoughts through his blog at GazetteXtra.com. John always said "it's easy to be nice". Survivors: His parents: Robert "Sam" and JoAnn McPoland, Dubuque, IA His siblings: Shelly (Shawn) Klinkhammer, Dubuque, IA and their children Robert and Shawn Mike (Kelli) McPoland, Dubuque, IA and their daughter Ashley Jim (Lori) McPoland Dubuque, IA and their children Samatha, Jeanna and John Bob (Michelle) McPoland, Waterloo, IA and their children Brianna and Samuel Preceded in death: He was preceded in death by his grandparents. Memorials: In lieu of flowers a John F. McPoland Scholarship has been established. Thank you: The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Dr. Dena Green and the nurses and staff at the oncology department at Mercy Regional Cancer Center in Janesville, WI. and to John's extended family in Janesville for all their love and support during his courageous battle with cancer, and to Hospice of Dubuque.