John W. DePass

Waltham - Mr. John W. DePass, of Daytona Beach, Florida, a former longtime resident of Waltham, died Saturday, July 8, 2006 after an illness. He was 81. Born in Boston, he was a son of the late Louis and Angelus (Kerens) DePass. He was raised in Watertown and had lived many years in Waltham before retiring to Florida in 1986. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School, Waltham and received both his bachelor and master degree’s from Boston College. During World War II, Mr. DePass served with the United States Army Air Corps. A life-long educator, he was a math and science teacher for over 37 years at West Junior High School in Watertown and later, Watertown High School, retiring in 1986. Among his hobbies he was an avid skier, golfer and painter. He had a small company that painted homes in the summer time as a side business. His true love was music. He was a member the Concord Chorus Group and the “River City All Stars”, a barbershop quartet-singing group. He was a member of the Boston College Alumni Association and Massachusetts Retired Teacher’s Association; S.P.B.S.Q.S.A (Society for the Preservation of Barbershop Quarter Singers in America) and was a former member of Saint Mary’s Church. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Eleanor T. (Hughes) DePass; He was the father of eleven children, David O., Joseph J. DePass and Patricia A. Tolan, all of Waltham, Paul J. DePass of Auburn, CA, Thomas H. DePass of Mountain view, CA, Daniel L. DePass of Randolph, Mark A. DePass of St. Petersburg, FL, Jane E. DePass of Sandwich, Ann Marie DePass of North Attleboro, Mary E. Tibbetts of Daytona Beach, FL; a sister, Grace Chabi of Des Plaines, Illinois, 18 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren also survive him and many nieces and nephews. His son, Jack W. DePass of Manhattan, NY died in 2002 and his siblings, Angela Neenan and Louis J. DePass, also predeceased him. The Funeral will be held Thursday at 9 a.m. from The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte.20) Waltham, followed by a Funeral Mass in Saint Mary’s Church, 133 School Street, Waltham at 10 a.m. A private burial will be held on Friday in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting hours Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Christian Children's Fund, 2821 Emerywood Parkway, Richmond VA 23294 or to Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, 3550 North Central Avenue, Suite 300 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-2127