John J. McBride, 76, newspaper driver and mail carrier
He doted on his 20 grandchildren who couldnt get enough of his love or his spaghetti and meatballs.
JACK McBRIDE'S DOOR was always open.
Friends, friends of friends, his sons' friends - all were welcome to drop in anytime, check out the refrigerator, have a meal, sleep over if they wanted to.
A happy, congenial Irishman, Jack was the kind of guy who always gave of himself, whether it was to his five sons, his cherished grandkids or his many friends. Jack was there with an open door and an open heart.
And his grandkids could wrap him around their fingers. They were spoiled rotten by Grandad.
John J. McBride, onetime driver for the old Evening Bulletin, a mail carrier, an avid fan of all Philly sports teams and a cook whose spaghetti and meatballs were in constant demand, died Thursday of cancer. He was 76 and lived in Rhawnhurst.
"A lot of his sons' friends looked at him as not only a secondary father figure, but also as a friend himself," said Bob Vetrone Jr., Daily News sports-desk assistant who grew up with the McBride family.
"He was, at least for me, another grown-up to bounce stuff off and know you would get back an honest response. I am a better man for having known him when I was a boy. And there are no doubt dozens of others who could say that."
Jack was a son of the late Bill McBride, a well-known assistant sports editor of the Bulletin who wrote about horse racing.
Probably as a result, Jack in his younger years enjoyed the races at Keystone, Atlantic City, Monmouth and other courses.
He was a man who really knew how to relax. He loved to carry his chair down to the beach at Sea Isle City, settle down with a good mystery or crime novel, and stay in the sun and sand, listening to the wash of the surf, until dark.
It was his job to make dinner, but no problem. He had prepared the dinner in the morning, so he could chill out until the light faded. He would return to the family's rented house or, later, the house that two of his sons, Dennis and Michael, bought, pop open a Miller Lite and reheat the meal.
Jack was born in Frankford to William and Albina McBride. He later moved to Juniata, where he raised his children.
He was a proud 1954 graduate of Northeast Catholic High School for Boys.
He worked as a driver for the Bulletin's Circulation Department for more than 20 years, and was a member of the Teamsters Union.
When the Bulletin closed in 1982, he became a mail carrier for the Postal Service's Richmond office.
About five years ago, he tore the rotator cuff in his shoulder while pushing a heavy mail cart. He had to have surgery, and he was never able to get the strength back in his arm.
The Bulletin helped sons Michael, John and Kevin pay for their educations. They worked part-time, either as drivers or in the sports department.
"He was a happy guy," Michael said. "He lived life to its fullest. The biggest thing in his life was the births of his grandchildren."
Jack had 20 grandkids and he never lost track of them. He loved to take them around, attend their activities, laugh with them, and, basically, just be with them.
He married the former Joan Siegman, in 1958. She died in 1998, and six years ago, he married Barbara Watts.
Besides his wife and sons, he is survived by another son, Christopher; a brother, William McBride; 20 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. today at Resurrection of Our Lord Church, Castor Avenue and Vista Street. Friends may call at 9 a.m. at the Galzerano Funeral Home, 9304 Old Bustleton Ave.