Happy belated John. Love you always.

xo Berna

Happy 62nd Birthday, John. Our cousin Gail, just sent me a photograph of Aunt Nettie's Wedding at the Half-Moon Hotel in Coney Island. Daddy is in the photo and he's around ten or eleven and it's amazing how much you resembled him as a boy. Uncle Kenny, also a young boy, is sitting directly behind him. I hold on to the good memories. Sending you love, always.

Hey John,

Happy 19 in heaven. Love you always,

Berna

Dear John,
I haven't been able to sleep for two days and now I understand why. It's strange to live every moment of past trauma as if it is happening in real-time. I'm creating something that has to do with you and through this process, I hope to find the truth. I miss you, brother. My heart and soul still ache over losing you.

Happy belated John. Love you always.

Happy Birthday John,
Missing you, brother. I hope that you are having a blast celebrating in Heaven with Mom and Dad. Visit me in my dreams. Sending all my love to you.

Dear John,

18 years an angel!!! Thank you for helping Kathy get a good nights rest!!! Nothing is more healing than deep sleep and I know you are watching over her and all of us.

Kathy showed me a pic of your beautiful grandchild on Saturday. Congrats!!

Always think of you, always love you.
xo

Berna

Last night, it began snowing at 7 PM and it snowed until 4:30 this afternoon. It became a time for forced surrender for me. We didn't lose power, but I lost power from within. When the lights within me went out a deep sleep, one that I have been longing for, fell over me. I lost an entire day today in being productive but I gained it in rest. It was as if you knew what I needed and convinced mother nature to send it my way. I miss you, John. I wish you were here. I wish I could go back in time and change so many things. I hope that you have the peace you found for me today. Forever Loved. Forever Missed.

Dear John,
Remembering you on what would have been your 60th birthday. I wish that you were here celebrating this big day with Johnny, Amanda, and your beautiful grandchildren. John reminds me so much of you when you were a baby. I hope that you're seeing what you helped to create from heaven. I miss and love you so much.

Its the springtime of my loving
The second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing
So little warmth I've felt before
It isn't hard to feel me glowing
I watched the fire that grew so low, oh
It is the summer of my smiles
Flee from me, keepers of the gloom
Speak to me only with your eyes
It is to you, I give this tune
Ain't so hard to recognize, oh
These things are clear to all from time to time, ooh
Oh, oh
Oh
Talk, talk, talk, talk
Hey, I felt the coldness of my winter
I never thought it would ever go
I cursed the gloom that set upon us, 'pon us, 'pon us
But I know that I love you so
Oh, but I know
That I love you so
These are the seasons of emotion
And like the wind, they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion
I see the torch
We all must hold
This is the mystery of the quotient, quotient
Upon us all, upon us all, a little rain must fall
Just a little rain, oh, yeah
Oh, ooh, yeah-yeah-yeah

-The Rain Song, Led Zeppelin

Dear John,
Seventeen years have passed by and you should know that you are still very much alive in the hearts of your family and friends. You had an unforgettable smile, hug, and personality. I'm usually emotionally distraught during the days leading up to this day. Today, I choose to celebrate you, the person you were, and the life that you lived. You left so many treasures behind. Like the seeds of advice and lessons learned to help us grow, your beautiful son and two beautiful grandchildren, all the memories we shared good and not so good, your kindness, your generosity, your sense of humor, and all the beautiful traits that made you unique.

I miss you, brother. The pain will never leave me because the day you left it broke my heart. It's the kind of broken that will never heal, BUT, today John, I celebrate you and I celebrate your life.

I love and miss you forever and a day,
K.

Missing you like crazy. I have had some very tragic loss in my life recently. Last March I lost my youngest brother Ray to addiction. My best friend, Kristin has just passed away on April 3rd, my Wife's birthday. Please send me some strength, Uncle John. I think about you every day. Please hug everyone up there in heaven and kiss Grandma on the head for me. Love you lots and happy birthday in heaven.

Home
Wish I were with you, but I couldn't stay
Every direction leads me away
Pray for tomorrow, but for today
All I want
Is to be home
Stand in the mirror, you look the same
Just looking for shelter from the cold and the pain
Someone to cover, safe from the rain
And all I want
Is to be home
The echoes and silence, patience and grace
All of these moments I'll never replace
No fear of my heart, absence of faith
All I want
Is to be home
People I've loved, I have no regrets
Some I remember, some I forget
Some of them living, some of them dead
All I want
Is to be home.

-Foo Fighters

Love you always Tin man xo

Dear John,

I celebrate your life today and all the life lessons you left behind. I live in gratitude and appreciation to you for helping my blind heart to see. I hope you're celebrating with mom and dad and Ruby. I miss you so.

xoxo

  

Happy sweet 16 John.

Love you always.

B

You must be passing out the cigars in heaven, J. I wish that you were here with us instead of watching over us. I know how proud and excited you must be to meet your new grandson, John Eamon McGinley Jr. I can close my eyes and see your mile-long smile as you watch over Johnny, Amanda, Mackenzie, and John Eamon Jr. Missing you every minute of every day. xoxo

Missing you, John. Remembering 58 years ago today when you were born. xo

Fifteen years since we lost you John and yet it feels as if it were yesterday. Losing you actually hurts more today. The only consolation is that I know you are together again with mom and dad now. I visualize the three of you in a new dimension where the past and the future are no longer relevant. In your new home, you are all embraced with unconditional love 24/7. I wish I had given you all more of that kind of love while you were here. I miss you all so very, very much. Forever, xoxoxo Kaki

Happy Birthday, John. I wish that you were here with us to celebrate it. Missing you. xoxoxo
Kathy

Hey John,
Thinking of you. Love always and forever, Berna

My Dear Brother I miss you so much. It's been 14 years since you passed 5,112 days and everyday I wake up i think of you. I miss you so much.

Uncle John,
I have been thinking so much about you lately with so many exciting things happening wishing you were here to celebrate. Words can not explain the heavy heart I have because boy it does not get easier. You will forever be in my heart and my gaurdian angel. I hope your having a blast up there looking down on us. I love you so much.
Ashley

Hey there, Mr. Tin Man
You don't know how lucky you are
You shouldn't spend your whole life wishin'
For something bound to fall apart
Every time you're feeling empty
Better thank your lucky stars
If you ever felt one breaking
You'd never want a heart
Hey there, Mr. Tin Man
You don't know how lucky you are
I've been on the road that you're on
It didn't get me very far
You ain't missing nothing
'Cause love is so damn hard
Take it from me, darling
You don't want a heart
Hey there, Mr. Tin Man
I'm glad we talked this out
You can take mine if you want it
It's in pieces now
By the way there, Mr. Tin Man
If you don't mind the scars
You give me your armor
And you can have my heart
A song from Miranda Lambert

Dear John,
I miss you with every breath I take. When I am lost in the sorrow of losing you I hold on to the good memories. Love you, brother. I hope you're having a blast in the afterlife. "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we deeply love becomes a part of us." – Helen Keller

The family will gather tomorrow to celebrate Christmas. You will be present in our hearts and our minds. We love and miss you so much.

Happy belated birthday Tin man. Love, Berna

Happy 56th Birthday, John.

It's a girl! You have a granddaughter and her name is Mackenzie.

Johnny and his beautiful wife Amanda went to the hospital today to deliver your grandchild. We know that it will be a girl and we are so excited to meet her. My dear brother, Johnny has grown into a beautiful young man. You would be so PROUD of him. His wife, Amanda, is perfect in every way. She will be a wonderful mother and she is a terrific match for Johnny. What is so astounding is that this beautiful little girl will be born very close to the anniversary of when we lost you. The irony of it leaves me feeling that there is something far greater than all of us writing this story. I wish you were here to witness this. Yet, I know that you are here in spirit, watching over us, watching over them and handing out cigars in Heaven.

At 11:37PM Mackenzie Susan McGinley was born. She is 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches long. Johnny, Amanada and Mackenzie are all doing great!

I have been writing the story of Steeplechase since the day I was born. Reading through what I have written through the years about growing up in Coney Island, I came upon a chapter that began with the day of your birth. I could feel the sudden lump in my throat take form followed by tears a plenty. I began to recall all of our conversations. I can't help but to focus on the times when you told me that you were feeling down about yourself and feeling worthless. I thought Dear God, how I wish I could go back in time to that moment and what if I had the ability to replay the day you were born for you as if it were a Netflix movie. You would be able to see how truly valued you were. You would have clearly understood what you meant to all of us.

The day you were born was the only day that I can ever remember seeing mom and dad in a total state of bliss. I could see how much having a son meant to Daddy and Mommy as well. I can only imagine that after giving birth to three girls there was a great deal of pressure on mom to deliver a son, something I'm sure she wanted to lovingly give to our father. Daddy was a good father to his daughters. He was sensitive and loving even though we were so foreign to him. Yet, it was clear that daddy needed sons in order to pass along a piece of himself. As your oldest sister I was totally in awe of how beautiful you were. You had platinum blonde hair and beautiful eyes, and dimples! You also had a winning personality. I just wish that you could have seen that and believed in yourself.

If only I had known then what I know now. Where is our wisdom when we need it the most? At the time of your need, my wisdom was limited. I realize that writing Steeplechase is going to be much harder than I originally thought. These are the memories that I cling to and at the same time they rip my heart in two. I miss you so much, my brother. I realize all that I could have been for you, could have done for you, and yet I can't make it up to you now. I would imagine that you probably have made some good connections in heaven by now. Ask them to replay that day for you so you can see what a gift you were to all of us.

With love,
Kathy

Happy birthday John. Love you home slice. xo Berna

Father of the four winds, fill my sails across the sea of years. With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fears. Happy birthday in heaven.

Happy Birthday John,

I remember the day you came into the world. Mom was just here talking about how she went into labor on Easter Eve and made sure to lay out all of our Easter outfits before she left for the hospital to give birth to you. Remember how we dressed up in those years? Mom would always take us to Robert Hall's for a new outfit from head to toe. I'll never forget the little suit you wore and you even had a Fedora with a feather on the side. Dad was in charge of dressing us the next morning to go to church. We were so happy that you were the extra treat in our Easter baskets that year. Memories are a treasured gift. Sending you love and wishing you peace. xoxoxo

Every year a few days before the anniversary of the day you left us I find that I usually become physically ill. I can't sleep and I can't figure out why. I'm overwhelmed with sadness and then it all becomes clear, I remember. This year I did not go through this. All of a sudden the day passed me by completely before I remembered. And so, I take it as a sign. It's time to stop mourning your death and start celebrating your life and the memory of you. I lay a flower before you now, still in pain over losing you, that will never change, but I celebrate who you were and who you aspired to be. I can't wait to see you again.

They say it gets easier as time goes by but it definitely does not. You are constantly on my mind. We all love and miss you more then ever. Send some luck to our Yanks this year please. Love ya

Time passes but it doesn't lessen the pain I feel about losing you and I know in my heart it never will. If I could make a deal with God I would trade whatever time I have left to have just one more minute with you.

Miss and love you, brother.
K.

I miss you today no more than any other day. It gets harder everyday not having you here but I know your here in spirit. I miss you and love you my guardian angel.

Love you forever
Ash

Happy Birthday brother.

Maybe it's me but as the years pass by it doesn't get easier.
Love and miss you Tommy

Love you John. Happy Birthday xoxo

It would have been nice to celebrate your 53rd birthday with you today. My show this week is dedicated to you. I will also plant a tree in my garden as I hold on to all I miss about you today. You would be so proud of your son and all the kids. We miss you.

Love you always John xoxo

I can't sleep. Not understanding why and then I realize that today is the day I never want to wake up to. Ten years have come and gone and yet the pain of losing you is just as severe as it was the moment I discovered that you were gone.

Today I will imagine that you are here with me. A storm is expected but we will take a walk in the falling snow down to Cooper Lake and we will share our thoughts and feelings with each other and say all of the things we never got to say while you were here.

Love you, brother.

I Am Not Here

Don’t stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint of snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning, hush.
For I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circle flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand by my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

- Hopi Grief Song/Prayer

Thinking of you, today. Miss seeing you and your little book that held all of your ideas for inventions.  I hope you are having a blast up there.

I think about you everyday and miss you so freakin much. since you left us I have not been the same.

just wish I had five minutes longer with you.Im thinking only about the good times today.Keeping your smile in my heart forever. I know its early in the day but will toast you with a ice cold beer.your spirit will live on forever and a day.

This will always be the saddest day of my life. I miss you.

missing you more today then I did yesterday!

Thinking of you. Missing you. I wish you were here to celebrate.

Hey Tinley. Think of you all the time. Love you always. xoxo Berna

Every life has a measure of sorrow, and sometimes this is what awakens us.
Steven Tyler