Obituary of John Joseph Kilrain

Schenectady, Schenectady County 

The world has become a little quieter because John (Jack) Joseph Kilrain passed away on Saturday, November 10, 2018, and will no longer lift his voice in song among us. 

Born in Manchester, NH on March 11, 1950, Jack was just 68 when he died from complications due to metastasized pancreatic cancer. He was home with his loving family by his side. Jack was the son of the late John J. and Elizabeth (Doherty) Kilrain. He was beloved by his wife, Eileen P. Kilrain, formerly Callahan. 

A friend to everyone, Jack always tried to help people whenever he could. With a passion for the written word, Jack worked as a librarian for New York State in various positions in the area. Music filled his life. He could always be heard whistling or singing a favorite tune or plucking some strings on a guitar or banjo. One of his joys was making music with his many friends in the Pickin’, Singin’, and Gatherin’ (the PSG), a local folk music group for which he served as President for many years, as well as standing up for workers as part of the Solidarity Singers. If you love to sing no matter your skill, Jack would tell you to check out the PSG and find friendship as well as song: pickingandsinging.org. 

He is survived by his beloved wife Eileen P. Kilrain of Schenectady, his loving daughters KatherineKilrain del Rio and Paddy Kilrain, both of Portland, Maine. He is also survived by his friend and son-in-law Hiram Kilrain del Rio, his adoring grandson Liam B Kilrain del Rio, as well as his siblings and their spouses, Brian and Sue Kilrain, Kevin Kilrain, Mary Ellen and Jamie Hutcheson, Nancy and MarkWarenda, and Sheila and David Krupski. Jack also greatly enjoyed being an uncle to many nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews. 

Relatives and friends may call from 4-8:00pm on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at the Jones Funeral Home, Inc., 1503 Union Street, Schenectady. Funeral Mass will be conducted at 9:00am on Friday at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, 2216 Rosa Road, Schenectady. 

Kindly consider donations to Old Songs (oldsongs.org) at PO Box 466, Voorheesville, NY 12186-0466 in memory of Jack’s love of music, or to support research to detect this horrible cancer earlier at the Pancreatic Cancer Research Center (pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas), donations payable to Johns Hopkins University, Ralph H. Hruban, M.D., Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Carnegie 417, Baltimore, MD 21287. 

Online remembrances may be made at www.jonesfh.net. 

Most of all, sing a song or make some music in Jack’s honor.