John Joseph Rennie

John Rennie was born on June 28, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Grammar School on Woodside Avenue and Good Counsel High School, graduating in 1951.
Along with his three brothers, John worked in the family business, Rennie and Sons Self Service Market on Summer Avenue in Newark. He served in the United States Army at Fort Polk in Louisiana and in Kansas. After the Army, John attended Fairleigh Dickenson University in Hackensack and Rutherford campuses, continuing to work in the family's grocery store and later obtaining a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.
After Rennie and Sons Self Service Market closed, John worked for the Army at Fort Belvoir and was a member of the team that developed night vision goggles. During his 25 years working for the government, John lived in Alexandria, Virginia.
After returning to New Jersey, John embarked on a totally different path of volunteering, both as a tutor to adults who never learned to read, and even more recently, as a provider of food to the soup kitchen at The Missionaries of Charity at St. Columbus Church in Newark. Through contacts at Whole Foods, he picked up and delivered large quantities food that would have been wasted and brought it to The Missionaries of Charity on Sussex Avenue in Newark, often working in the kitchen with other volunteers. The sisters at Mother Theresa's considered him their "big brother."
John – to those who knew him well – was a good man. He always helped anyone who needed help, either by fixing things in their houses or providing financial assistance. He was "Uncle John" to his five nephews and one niece as well as to his 16 great nephews and nieces.
John was a very observant Catholic. He attended daily mass at St. Thomas in Bloomfield. He routinely drove other people to mass and provided many tickets to the Archbishop of Newark's Catholic Charities Gala in support of the Serra Club, an organization that encourages and supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
John lived his faith. He also was loyal to his family and others. He was always there when you needed him. He worked at the soup kitchen until he was 88 years old.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend Visitation from 4:00 - 8:00 pm at the O'Boyle Funeral Home, 309 Broad Street Bloomfield The funeral Mass will be offered at St Thomas The Apostle Church, Bloomfield on Saturday at 10:00 am. Interment Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair.