When John Granny died suddenly last year, his family and the Kent State University – Geauga community were shattered.
When John Granny died suddenly last year, his family and the Kent State University – Geauga community were shattered.
“I was honestly heartbroken,” said Amy Murfello, KSU-Geauga marketing and community engagement manager. “He was my boss, and he turned into my mentor and friend.”
Because of the pandemic, his family and friends didn’t have an opportunity to hold a celebration of Granny’s life, Murfello said.
“Ironically, he’d spent 30 years with Kent State and planned to retire in September,” she said. “It was very tragic and totally unexpected.”
According to an obituary from Sly Family Funeral Home in Middlefield, Granny, 54, died July 18 from complications resulting from a spinal cord injury.
Granny started working at KSU right after he graduated from the university and took positions at different Kent campuses, progressing up the ladder until he became director of business affairs at the Geauga campus and the Twinsburg Academic Center, according to a press release.
“John’s genuine smile and welcoming demeanor made him a beloved member of our campus for the many years he called the Geauga campus home,” said Angela Spalsbury, dean and chief administrative officer at KSU – Geauga and TAC.
Murfello recalled his character on the leadership team at the Geauga campus.
“I really appreciated his sense of humor. If you had a bad day, he knew how to cheer you up,” she said, adding he would buy staff members lunch on their birthdays.
Granny’s energy extended to Middlefield, where he lived and was a school booster.
“He was very supportive of Cardinal sports,” Murfello said, adding Granny also supported KSU scholarships.
A campaign has been started to raise funds to build a memorial patio at the Geauga campus in his name with a good view of the Berkshire Schools building now under construction east of the KSU building.
“The installation of the John Granny Memorial Patio is one small way for the campus community to remember him and honor his Kent State spirit,” Spalsbury said.
A KSU – Geauga press release noted the following:
The patio will be a place for Granny’s friends and family and the campus community to gather, meet or study. The outdoor space will have a hint of blue and gold (which Granny wore proudly) and will overlook the new Berkshire School complex — a project he enthusiastically supported.
Donations of any size will be accepted to support this project. Personalized paving bricks will become part of the space, and donors may choose to personalize two different brick sizes with engraved messages.
Murfello said the 4-inch-by-8-inch bricks will be $50 and the 8-inch-by-8-inch bricks will be $100.
The bricks can be engraved and the patio will display a memorial plaque, she said.
Construction by McCaskey Landscaping is scheduled to start May 17 and will take two weeks to complete, weather permitting, Murfello said.
Immediate family will be having a celebration of Granny’s life on the patio when it is done, she said.
For more information or to donate, please visit the website – https://www.kent.edu/geauga/support.
