Obituary: Deacon John T. Flynn, served parish 46 years

Deacon John T. Flynn, ordained five years before the creation of the Diocese of Metuchen, died July 18, 2023, having served his home parish of St Philip and James, Philipsburg, for 46 years. He was ordained a permanent deacon on May 14, 1977, by Bishop George W. Ahr, Diocese of Trenton.

In addition to his parochial ministries, Deacon Flynn was a member of the former Phillipsburg Area Council of Churches and was active with their food pantry. Deacon Flynn was co-chairman of the Warren County Jail Chaplaincy Council, a member of the Warren Hospital chaplaincy committee, and a teacher in their ecumenical school of faith. He formerly served as the assistant chaplain of the Jersey Hose Fire Company and received an honorary lifetime membership there.

A funeral Mass was celebrated for Deacon Flynn at the parish on July 25, 2023, the Feast of St. James. Father John Barbella, former pastor of the parish was the principal celebrant and homilist. Father Antony Arockiadoss, pastor, was among those priests who concelebrated.

In his homily, Father Barbella said that when he was first appointed pastor in St. Philip and St. James 14 years ago, he was told that the parish had, “great deacons.”

“Indeed, there are good deacons in this church, and at the head of them was Deacon John Flynn. It was men like Deacon Flynn who showed us what a servant a deacon could be.  It was women like his wife, Florence, who served us by sharing her husband with the larger Church,” said Father Barbella.

Born on May 20, 1937, in Phillipsburg, Deacon Flynn was the son of the late Francis T. Flynn Sr. and Blanche Jean Cantrel Flynn. He was a member of the parish for his entire life and was a resident of Philipsburg for 63 years. He received all his sacraments in the church, attended St. Philip and St. James elementary and high schools, and on Jan. 24, 1959, he and his wife, the former Florence Edith Ruch, were married in the church, as well. After an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy, Deacon Flynn returned to Phillipsburg.

He was employed by Ingersoll Rand Company as a pyrometer technician until 1983 before becoming a member of the board of directors and a loan officer for IRCO Community Federal Credit Union until his retirement in 2002.

Although Bishop James F. Checchio was unable to attend the funeral Mass, he sent a letter to the family that was read by Deacon Stephen F. Kern, diocesan director, Office of the Diaconate, in which the Bishop assured them that, “I joined with you at the altar, as I offered Mass for John and your family, too.”

Bishop Checchio recalled the many souls Deacon Flynn helped in his many years of service and mentioned that two young priests “whom I ordained in recent years were baptized by Deacon John.”

Stating that no deacons do all this alone, the Bishop also expressed his gratitude to “Florence, John’s dear wife, for her support of his ministry over the years.”

Surviving Deacon Flynn, in addition to his wife, Florence, are three sons, Edward C. and his wife, Stephanie, with whom he resided; Thomas P. and his wife Ellen, Bethlehem, Pa., and Brian F. and his wife Linda, Palmer, Pa; seven grandchildren; three great grandchildren; his three sisters, Mary Lilly, Patricia Flynn, and Blanche Gebhard, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his three brothers, Joseph, Francis, and Daniel.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Finnegan Funeral Home in Phillipsburg and interment was in St. Philip and St. James Cemetery in Greenwich Township. Memorials to his memory may be made to St. Philip and St. James Church, 426 South Main St., Phillipsburg, N.J., 08865.