TEWKSBURY, Mass. – Rev. John St. Cyr, OMI, passed away peacefully after a period of declining health on Dec. 7, 2019. He was born in Rumford on July 19, 1935 to Clarence and Mary St. Cyr and attended local schools through the eighth grade. He found his call to serve Christ early and left home to attend the Oblate Seminary in Bucksport at the start of high school. He continued his seminary studies until his Ordination on Sept. 15, 1961 in Lowell, Mass. He celebrated his first solemn Mass at St. Theresa’s Church in Mexico.

In 1963 Father John was sent to Haiti, where he found his true calling and his spiritual home. He served the people of Haiti for more than 50 years, most of which was spent in various locations within Haiti. For five years he was dispatched to French Guyana where he served Haitian emigrants and other parishioners. While he enjoyed his time in French Guyana, he was grateful to return to Haiti to finish out his official work with the people he loved. He would have loved to spend his final years in Haiti – the country and its people left an indelible stamp on his heart and in his soul.

Father John loved his visits home in the summers and spending time at the family camp on Rangeley Lake in Oquossoc. He loved to travel and enjoyed several trips across country to visit relatives and friends. During his summers he could often be found reading in the sun on the hottest of days, listening to the radio, and enjoying the company of his mother and other family members. He baptized many of his cousins, nieces and nephews and enjoyed celebrating mass in Oquossoc, Rangeley, and Mexico.

Father John celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1986 at St. Theresa’s, surrounded by his large, extended family and many friends. In 2011 he celebrated his Golden Jubilee at Holy Trinity Parish in Lisbon, which became his “home away from home” after his mother passed away and the family home was sold. His sister Connie and his brother Dick and wife Dona enjoyed getting to spend more time with him in later years, as did his many nieces, nephews and cousins. As his health declined and he needed to retire to the United States to be closer to medical services, he enjoyed celebrating holidays with family, eating out with friends, going to movies, listening to music, and sitting in the warm summer sun. He inevitably could be found with a cold Coca-Cola nearby and chocolate always at hand.

Father John lived the final years of his life at the Oblate Residence in Tewksbury, Mass., surrounded by his Oblate family. He visited Maine whenever he could and enjoyed family get-togethers in Tewksbury. Some of his favorite things to do included assembling jigsaw puzzles, reading, watching television, corny jokes and puns (the bigger the groan the better) and singing. He leant a hearty voice to many celebrations and sing-alongs, and especially enjoyed the opportunity to sing Christmas carols with family with his niece Audrey at the piano.

Father John is survived by his sister, Connie St. Cyr, and his brother and sister-in-law, Dick and Dona St. Cyr. In addition, he is survived by his nieces, Audrey Gifford, Annette Wilson, Jodi (Tim) Smith, Melissa (Matt) Hammond, and nephews Michael (Ellen) Wilson and Rick (Candice) St. Cyr, as well as many great- and great-great-nieces and nephews and cousins scattered all across the United States and Ireland.

The family is grateful to have had so much time with him especially in his later years and are comforted by many happy memories. He received excellent care from the entire staff at the Oblate Residence in Tewksbury and while we will miss him, we are grateful that he joined his parents in Heaven peacefully and well-loved.

We hope that each of you who knew him will find comfort in happy memories. The next time you hear a corny joke, or see a decadent chocolate dessert, we hope that you will think of him and smile.