John F. Austin Sr.

1933 - 2019

John Francis Austin Sr., 86, of Sudbury, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at his home. Beloved husband of the late Alberta F. Austin, he is survived by his sons John F. Austin Jr., Christopher J. Austin and his wife Diane Austin, Timothy A. Austin, and by his daughters Ellen D. Bacon, and Diana E. Patterson and her husband Andrew Patterson; and his beloved grandchildren, David Austin, Brittany Austin, James Austin, Madelyn Bacon and Lyla Austin; and his great granddaughter, Brianna Marie Randall. He is also survived by three sisters, Barbara OLoughlin of Watertown, Maureen Hoey of Natick and Anne Palmgren of Natick. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1933, grew up in Newton, MA, and had been a Sudbury resident for the past 56 years. From 1953 | 1955 he served in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tank Company, Second Battalion, of the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of Corporal before leaving the army for private life. In 1958 he married Alberta OBrien and settled into what became his life-long profession of dry-cleaning. He acquired his first store, Village Cleaners, in West Concord, MA in the late 1960s and ran it successfully for 35+ years before retiring in the late 1990s. Outside of running his businesses and caring for his family, his one true passion was horses and horse racing | a passion that was shared by his wife. They eventually realized their dream of owning several race horses and it was something that they truly enjoyed together. There will be a private Celebration of Life gathering on Sunday, June 23, 2019. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Saratoga Warhorse Foundation, P.O. Box 461, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, or to a charity of ones choice.