Myles P. Reardon Obituary
Myles P. Reardon, 87, passed away on June 9, 2022, surrounded by his loving daughters. He was the husband of Geraldine P. Reardon and together they shared 63 years of marriage. Losing her in January 2020 was the saddest event of his entire life.
Born on March 15, 1935, Myles was the youngest son of Harry J. Reardon and Mary C. (Bushey) Reardon. He attended St. Ann's School and graduated from Gloucester High School in 1953.
In high school he excelled in the JROTC program, playing on the ROTC basketball team, winning the prize squad commander his junior year and serving as an officer in the battalion his senior year. He was also on the Rifle Team for three years, and as Captain of the team, his senior year they won the National Rifle Association High School Championship. Myles also received the prestigious Sawyer Medal his junior year for outstanding academic achievement.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy shortly after graduation and served as a First-Class Machinery Repairman onboard the U.S.S. Albany until 1957. His accounts of life onboard the Albany and serving in the Navy were some of the most exciting times of his youth. In 1990, the USS Albany Alumni Group started holding periodic reunions and Myles and Gerry attended them all up and down the east coast. Myles brought his daughters to the 2021 reunion in Providence RI, where he enjoyed talking Navy with Albany alums.
In 1957 he married Gerry and together they raised five children and shared decades of happiness and housework at their home at 199 Washington Street in Gloucester. Myles was extremely proud of the stately 3 story Victorian house and spent untold hours working on the house and yard. The Chinese Dogwood Tree in the side yard was photographed by numerous visitors over the years and even garnered awards. The tree was like a sixth child to them both and they took great pride in, when it bloomed each spring.
Myles attended Northeastern University in Boston, nights, while working for Standley Brothers in Beverly, MA., and then in 1959 as a Machinist with Sylvania in Salem, Ma. He became a Drafter at Sylvania in 1962 and then a Design Drafter in 1963. He graduated in 1964 with an Associate of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later attended North Shore Community College, graduating in 1976 with a degree in Business Management. He continued at Sylvania for 31 years, retiring in 1995 when he was the Manager of the Mechanical Design for Halogen, HID and Incandescent Lighting Equipment Development Division in Ipswich, Mass.
In the early spring of 1995 Myles and Gerry started their next epic adventure travelling extensively through the southeast United States for many years. Each winter the couple travelled to Florida on the car train and slowly meandered their way up the east coast spending time in Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Pennsylvania and then New England. Each trip included stays at beautiful historic landmarks and some of the greatest golf courses in America. Myles played the courses, Gerry cheered him on from the shops, museums and local points of interest. They both thoroughly enjoyed history and visited museums and attractions that they talked about for years and years.
In the later years, Gerry and Myles loved travelling to Foxwoods each month for a few days of fun, food and entertainment. Together they played the slots, people watched and enjoyed each other's company. They were always the happiest when they were together.
In 2018 Myles and Gerry attended their 65th Gloucester High School reunion with daughters, Liz, Cathy and Bonnie. Their good friend and classmate, Jimmy Greely, set up the event and got them all together for one last party. It was wonderful for them to visit with classmates they had known their whole lives and to catch up on years of births, medical appointments, and good memories. At the end of the reunion Mr. Greely recognized Myles and Gerry for "bringing the most children" to the reunion and for being the "longest married original couple of the Class of 1953.". He said that they were one of seven couples who married from the graduating class and that they had been married the longest. It was a wonderful recognition of a couple who weathered the test of time, five children and over 60 years together!
In 2021 Myles reached another milestone in his golfing career travelling to Denver, PA for his annual Ould Newbury Golf Group Golf Tournament. Started almost 40 years ago, Myles organized every aspect of the trip for the 16 golfers who competed for the "Dave McKinney Memorial Trophy" culminating days of competition, camaraderie and friendship. The golf tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, but occurred in September 2021. Having not played any golf since the 2019 tournament, Myles worried that he wouldn't be able to play a round of golf, let alone six days of 18 holes. The task seemed daunting as he and his daughter Cathy drove to Pennsylvania for the outing. He started off slowly playing only nine holes on each of the first two days, but by the third day he was back! He played 18 holes of golf each day for four consecutive days and won the last two days of the tournament. It was an amazing adventure for everyone who attended and it also served to brighten many a long evening since, with fond memories and hopes of playing again in September 2022.
Myles is survived by his children: a son Myles, Jr. and his wife Marsha of Fayetteville, Ga.; daughters, Elizabeth of Orlando, Fla., Catherine of Middleton, Ma., and Bonnie of Indianapolis, In.; and former son-in-law, Wayne Burgess of Wappingers, NY. He is also survived by three granddaughters, Kate McIntosh and her husband Matt and their sons Jayden and Damon of Lowell, Ma.; Myla and Jacqueline Reardon of Fayetteville, Ga.; and Jacqueline's son Courtland. He is survived by many nephews and nieces including David, Harry "Joe", Debby, DeDe, Jimmy, Paul, Ed, Cathy, Charlene, P.J., Cathy and Mike. He was predeceased by both his parents and his siblings Harry, Jr., William, Joseph and Margaret and by his first daughter, Mary Reardon Burgess of Key West, Fla.; who died from cancer in 2020 and the family's favorite pet, Leonardo de Cappuccino.
A wake will be held at the Greely Funeral Home 212 Washington Street, Gloucester on Friday June 17 from 4-7 p.m. Family and friends are cordially invited. A private burial will be conducted at Calvary Cemetery the following day.
Memorial donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Care Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923 or online at http://www.caredimensions.org.
