John R. Gleason

John R Gleason, 60, of Camillus passed away Monday August 8th, 2022, of heart failure. Born in Syracuse in April 1962, he was the fourth son of George and Dorothy Gleason. His loves of music and history were sparked and nurtured by his mother. Together they explored the streets and history of Syracuse and listened to the most recent albums of artists such as Doris Day and Andy Williams. John graduated from West Genesee High School in Camillus in 1980, was a member of both the music program and the boy scouts Troop 186. John was an Eagle Scout and an accomplished trombonist. He earned the rank of eagle scout and mastered the bass trombone. Over the years he performed with several different school, community and professional bands. His educational accomplishments and range of careers was broad. Careers included both food service and grocery Retail Management, Operations Manager at Onondaga Music, Technology & Help Desk Support for Carrol's Corporation, and Part-time Adjunct Instructor and Full-time Technology Assistant at Onondaga Community College. A strong advocate of lifelong education, John had 2 Associate degrees (Music Instrument Technology - SUNY Morrisville 1982, and Computer Studies - Onondaga Community College 2004); one Bachelor’s degree (Information Management & Technology – Syracuse University 2008), and a dual Master’s degree (Library Science / Information Management & Technology) with a Certificate in Digital Libraries from Syracuse University in 2015. He was completing an internship – working on a music digitization project with the NYS Old Tyme Fiddlers' Association in Redfield, NY - when a ruptured appendix left him hospitalized for several months. Despite several months of rehab and physical therapy, he suffered a heart attack before being able to return to work and was left permanently physically disabled. Not very long after completing the internship, the world was challenged by the COVID pandemic. Despite reports that we had never experienced this type of challenge, with his knowledge of history John questioned the truth of those comments. Using his digital resources and librarian’s research skills, he had been conducting an exhaustive study of the history of NYS Public Health as documented in the news and stories of the state’s historical newspaper archives (starting from 1860). John is mourned by a large family that is centered on his daughter Victoria Gleason of Camillus, Victoria’s Grandmother, Joan Lackey, of Solvay, and his surviving partner and caregiver, Claire Hebbard, of King Ferry as well as their extended families. Recently since family extends to reconnected high school and college friends drawn to John due to his ability to weave American, global, and music history into any conversation. He is mourned by this large community. Calling hours will be held will be Monday, August 15th from 1 to 3 pm with services to follow at 3 pm at B.L. Bush & Sons Funeral Home, 10 Genesee St., Camillus. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to Young@Heart Chorus, 30 North Maple St., Florence, MA 01062 or online at youngatheartchorus.com/donate Please sign his guestbook at www.BLBUSH.com

John R. Gleason

April 14, 1962 - August 8, 2022