John A. Popsun,Jr.

John A. Popsun, Jr., age 76 of West Boylston, MA, formerly of Wilbraham, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 14, 2016 with his family by his side. John, son of the late John A. Popsun, Sr. and Goldie (Andricovich) Popsun, was born in Bridgeport, CT on September 17, 1939. John was a graduate of Fairfield College Preparatory School and earned a B.S. in Economics from Fairfield University. John served our country in the United States Army. He was honorably discharged in 1969, having attained the rank of Second Lieutenant. John was a tireless worker his whole life, gleaning joy and fulfillment from learning, solving problems, and being active. Early in his career in the 1960s, John astutely recognized the value of computers, was among the first to be trained on mainframe systems, and helped guide several packaging companies into the computer age. He held various management roles in a variety of companies, his two longest tenures being at Warner Packaging in Bridgeport and Eastern Container Corporation in Springfield, where he was Director of Management Information Systems. John was a noted baseball player in high school and college, and loved to play basketball. Those who only may have known John in recent years will be surprised to learn he previously spent a fair amount of time levitating a foot off the ground to make a jump shot. He enjoyed swimming. Annual trips to the Maine coast with his family were the highlight of the year. He liked driving in style, from Cutlass convertible to Camaro. John had a sharp sense of humor that cut both to the truth and to the funny bone. He had a keen eye for details, able to spot a grammatical error in a dense paragraph with a single sideway glance. Most of all, John was a good husband, father, and grandfather. He was selfless and generous to his family and friends. John is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Patricia M. (Connelly) Popsun; two sons: John Popsun and his wife Andrea of Plainville, CT; and Thomas Popsun and his wife Rikki of Andover, MN; a daughter, Carol Staras and her husband Michael of Boylston, MA; four grandchildren, Sabrina, Valerie, Anna and Megan. He is also survived by many cousins. Family and friends whose lives John touched are invited to calling hours on Wednesday, February 17th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation St., Worcester. His funeral will be held from the funeral home on Thursday, February 18, 2016 beginning at 9 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Mary of the Hills Church, 620 Cross Street, Boylston. John will be laid to rest in the Mount Vernon Cemetery, West Boylston immediately following Mass. The family wishes to extend its deep gratitude to those who helped care for John these past few years, including Knollwood Nursing Center. Those who wish to remember John by way of a memorial tribute are kindly asked to consider in lieu of flowers the American Parkinson Disease Association - Massachusetts Chapter, 72 East Concord Street, C3, Boston, MA 02118.