Obituary for John Richard Underwood
John Richard Underwood
September 1, 1949 – July 10, 2022
Underwood, John Richard, age 72 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, passed away July 10, 2022 after a year-long fight against cancer.
John is survived by his husband, Dean Burley, an aunt and several cousins, each of whom he enjoyed, admired, and spoke of often, as well as a vast network of close friends.
He completed his bachelor’s degree at Eastern University (Ypsilanti, MI) specializing in children’s literature; and his master’s degree at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) in school administration. He was passionate about educating children and often said he was privileged to have taught everything from headstart through a few college mentoring courses. Through his career, he taught in parochial schools, private schools, city schools and finished his career after working for the School District of Philadelphia for 27 years; he retired as an elementary school principal.
Live theater and music were his major enjoyment. Over the years he or Dean held season subscriptions to Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and theaters by the score – Arden Theater, Wilma Theater, Broadway Theater of Pitman, Philadelphia Theater Company, Walnut Street Theater, and 1812 Productions. They frequently attended performances on Broadway in New York.
John was an active member of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church (1625 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA) and served in many capacities over the 40 years he attended there. A memorial service in celebration of John’s life will be held at Saint Mark’s on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 12:00 pm. The service will also be live streamed (https:www.saintmarksphiladelphia.org/underwoodfuneral)
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in John’s memory be made to the Abramson Cancer Center (www.PennMedicine.org/cancer/giving) or Penn Medicine Hospice (www.PennMedicine.org/hospice-donate). Gifts by check (payable to “Penn Medicine”) may be mailed to:
Penn Medicine Development
3535 Market Street, Suite 750
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please include a note that your gift is in John’s memory.
September 1, 1949 – July 10, 2022
Underwood, John Richard, age 72 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, passed away July 10, 2022 after a year-long fight against cancer.
John is survived by his husband, Dean Burley, an aunt and several cousins, each of whom he enjoyed, admired, and spoke of often, as well as a vast network of close friends.
He completed his bachelor’s degree at Eastern University (Ypsilanti, MI) specializing in children’s literature; and his master’s degree at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) in school administration. He was passionate about educating children and often said he was privileged to have taught everything from headstart through a few college mentoring courses. Through his career, he taught in parochial schools, private schools, city schools and finished his career after working for the School District of Philadelphia for 27 years; he retired as an elementary school principal.
Live theater and music were his major enjoyment. Over the years he or Dean held season subscriptions to Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and theaters by the score – Arden Theater, Wilma Theater, Broadway Theater of Pitman, Philadelphia Theater Company, Walnut Street Theater, and 1812 Productions. They frequently attended performances on Broadway in New York.
John was an active member of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church (1625 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA) and served in many capacities over the 40 years he attended there. A memorial service in celebration of John’s life will be held at Saint Mark’s on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 12:00 pm. The service will also be live streamed (https:www.saintmarksphiladelphia.org/underwoodfuneral)
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in John’s memory be made to the Abramson Cancer Center (www.PennMedicine.org/cancer/giving) or Penn Medicine Hospice (www.PennMedicine.org/hospice-donate). Gifts by check (payable to “Penn Medicine”) may be mailed to:
Penn Medicine Development
3535 Market Street, Suite 750
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please include a note that your gift is in John’s memory.