LEWISTON – John Richard Geraghty died in Lewiston Monday, Nov. 22. He was 78 years old. He leaves his wife, Rosemary Ann, seven children, and 17 grandchildren.

He was born Jan. 29, 1926, in Racine, Wis., the son of Mabel and Bernard Geraghty.

He served in the United States Navy during World War II for two years, from 1944 to 1946. He was assigned as a radio man in the Service Squadron aboard the Flagship of the 5th Fleet, and later aboard the LST 615, in the Philippines and Japan.

He met Rosemary Krueger in 1948, and fell in love. They were married on June 14, 1949, at St. Charles Church in Burlington, Wis. They lived together, in love, for 55 years.

John received a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1950, and a M.A. degree from New York University in 1962. He was employed by the IBM Corp. for 31 years, and held various management positions in IBM sales offices in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He was assigned to IBM HQ office in New York in l957, and Boston regional offices in 1964.

He held positions on the faculties of Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and the University of Southern Maine, Portland, from 1968 to 1988.

He and Rosemary raised a family of nine children, Patrick Thomas (who died in 1983,) Jeanne Jones Geraghty of Norway, Michael John of Pleasant Hill, Calif., Daniel James (who died 2004,) Megan Ann (Bakken) of Temple, Texas, Timothy Charles of Marblehead, Mass., Robert Joseph of Windham, Mary Elizabeth (Mendes) of Buxton, and Bridget Marguerite (Cloutier) of Cape Elizabeth.

He had one sister, Bernice (King) of Burlington, Wis.; two brothers, Gilbert N. (who died in 2001,) and Thomas B. of Menasha, Wis. He is also survived by five sons/daughters-in law, Anna Marie (Bowen) Geraghty, Gabrielle (Woolf) Geraghty, Thomas Bakken, Joseph Mendes, and Thomas Cloutier.

The Geraghty family lived in various cities during John’s career with IBM: Green Bay and Madison, Wis.; Waterloo, Iowa; St. Paul, Minn.; Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; Hingham, Mass.; North Scituate, Mass.; and Portland. In 1969, they built a vacation home in Bryant Pond, and moved there permanently in 1983, after John’s retirement from IBM.

In 1988, Rosemary and John enrolled in the Shelter Institute, in Bath, to learn building. Over the next two years, they built a post and beam house in Bryant Pond for their family.

He and Rosemary fell in love with Spain on a vacation trip in 1971, and spent many winters in Portugal and Spain, often with their family – children and grandchildren. He loved to sail in Cape Cod Bay, the coves around Boston, and Lake Christopher in Bryant Pond. He loved New England, always looking for the Creator’s beauty in flowers, the baking of bread, his rose garden, reading, skiing, and the music of Beethoven.

He served in various community and church organizations.

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