John Moffat, 63, sports fanatic and role model
Moffat, who sold textiles and lived in Andorra most of his life, couldnt miss a game if a family member was involved.
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BIOLOGICALLY, Ryan Ciolli was John Moffat's nephew. But after Ciolli's father left him at the age of 3, John raised him as if he was his son.
Because of John's support, Ryan legally changed his name to Ryan Moffat in June 2011, when he married.
"I wanted my kids to know who he was," Ciolli, now 34, said. "And to be able to identify with the last name of him rather than my father, who they'll never meet and never had any real role in raising me."
John Moffat, 63, a lifelong resident of Andorra, died March 6 of cancer. Family members said he was an avid sports fan, devoted to family, and passionate about everything he did.
One of those relatives is Fran McCaffery, who y coaches the University of Iowa's men's basketball team. McCaffery, a cousin, said John was dedicated to supporting every team he coached, including at Iowa, where he started in 2010.
"He really followed our team," McCaffery said. "We just landed in Indianapolis to play in the Big Ten tournament, and he would always be here."
John ran his own textile company out of a warehouse in the suburbs. He sold leftover merchandise from bands that would go on tour to contacts he developed throughout the country.
He traveled across country as a young man with some friends to do some gold mining, but eventually found his way back to Andorra.
He attended La Salle College High School before graduating from Roxborough High School.
Jack McCaffery, 59, Fran's brother and a sports columnist at the Delaware County Daily Times, said John was very likable and knowledgeable about all the sports he followed.
The way he supported his family members was invaluable, Jack McCaffery added. "The fact that he was so interested in whatever his family members were doing is a great lesson for everybody," he said.
Ciolli said that as John raised him, he would support him fully no matter what he did. He played hockey at La Salle High and later at Drexel University.
"I think he probably missed one game in 22 years
," Ciolli said.
John also took him on cross-country road trips. During one of those, he said, he was taught a valuable life lesson.
He was instructed to look out the car window, and John would give him $1 for every Mail Pouch Tobacco advertisement he saw on the sides of barns. It wasn't until a decade later that he learned why John was giving him money.
"The only reason he told me that was so I wouldn't be on my Gameboy the whole time," he said. "It was to keep my head out the window, to look at things and see things."
In addition to Ciolli, John is survived by sisters Nancy and Mary, three nieces, and a grandniece and grandnephew.
Services are planned for Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Koller Funeral Home, 6835 Ridge Ave. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Donations may be made to the University of Iowa Foundation/AYA Cancer Program, Attn: Sarah Russett, 1 W. Park Rd., Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
215-854-5912 @Steve_Bohnel