John Peter Laursen, one happy guy
John lived for his children and devoted wife, Jane. He was a husband and father first. John was a traveler, sports nut, cancer survivor, partner, terrible fisherman, and friend to all. He has now gone to the Big Place in the sky after leading a blessed life for 67 years.
John was a proud Delawarean. Throughout his travels, John made sure to let everyone know how great Delaware was. He was lucky enough to live and raise his family in his childhood community of Sharpley, where he lived for over 55 years before moving to Rehoboth Beach.
Johnny Lew, as his close friends knew him, was a graduate of University of Delaware and a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the destroyer USS Conolly DD 979. After the Navy, John was a mailman up until he found his niche in real estate, where he had a 30-year fun career, starting at Weichert Realtors and then ReMax Associates.
John enjoyed traveling with Jane and was lucky enough to visit 49 states (sorry you missed out, North Dakota). John had also visited over 34 countries, traveling from Mount Everest to the Galapagos Islands. Throughout all his travels, his favorite places were Queenstown, New Zealand, and Dewey Beach.
John also loved going to concerts (favorite Led Zepplin Spectrum 1975) and was a passionate fan of all four Philly sports teams!
The most important thing in John’s life was his happy marriage to his best friend, Jane; and his three amazing daughters, Emily, Nicole and Alexis. He was proud of his daughters for being the kindest and sweetest people on the planet, and how they taught John what true happiness is.
John is survived by his wife, Jane; their children, Nicole (Thomas) McGettigan, Emily (Will) Raisis and Alexis (Dylan) Clifford; seven grandchildren; sister, Joan Aichinger; many nieces and nephews; and an awesome boatload of friends.
While flowers are pretty, John doesn’t want you to waste the money. In lieu of flowers, John would hope the next time you see a person in need, you give them $20 and tell them the Lord loves them. If you wish to give a donation in John’s honor, he loved to support the B+ Foundation, bepositive.org.
John asks that you make sure your kids and grandkids get the HPV virus vaccine. John’s last wish was to ask all of his friends if they would keep a lookout for Jane and his girls.
Family and friends are invited to a visitation from 5 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 5, at McCrery Funeral Home, 3924 Concord Pike, Wilmington. Additional parking is available in the back parking lot of Brandywine YMCA, 3 Mount Lebanon Road, Wilmington. A eulogy and Catholic funeral service will begin at 10:45 a.m., Thursday, March 6, at St. Mary Magdalen, 7 Sharpley Road, Wilmington.
Online condolences for the family may be made online at mccreryandharra.com.
