John Collon


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Name:	John Collon
Nickname/AKA:
Born:	07/04/1923
Died	12/05/1986
Spouse(s):
Parents:	Kathryn Collon
Siblings:
Children:
Other Relatives:
Friends:	John Duffy, Frank Shields, Eugene Dembinski, Joe Shields,
Military History:	John went to his military induction on 07/14/43, but was classified 4F based on eyesight and a fibrous tumor in his nose.
Education	Graduated from St. Michael's Diocesean High School in January, 1941. John was a classmate of Frank's. In January of 1941, he was awarded a 4-year tuition scholarship to St. John's University. In 1942, he received the "Cloonan medal" for highest GPA in the Sophomore class. He graduated summa cum laude in May, 1943, and was also awarded the Landry Medal for highest GPA in the Senior class. Attended Columbia University starting in Fall of 1943 working towards a master's degree in English.
Personal History:	Worked for Mellon Industrial Research Institute in 1943. While attending Columbia University, John worked for the New School of Social Research in New York. Obtained job with State Department in 1944; sent to Cairo, Egypt as Vice-Consul in November. A classmate of John's from St. Michael's High School, John Duffy, was killed in a non-combat plane crash a few days before VE day. John Collon was greatly affected by Duffy's death; read his very poignant letter to Frank. Starting sometime after the war, John Collon took care of Duffy's mother; her husband had died just a few months after Duffy, and she had no other children. By 1953, he was living in Brooklyn at the same address that the Duffy family had before the war. Unfortunately, he died almost 3 years before Mrs. Duffy did, so it's not clear what became of her during those last years. John Collon is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery; his location for his grave as noted in findagrave.com is the same as that for John Duffy and his parents: Jane Duffy and Edward Duffy.
Notable Documents:	309 - Letter to Frank written 03/19/43, very soon after Frank's induction into the Army. 552 - Includes some of John's poetry. 888 - Written from Cairo in 1945, this letter informed Frank of the death of John Duffy, a classmate of theirs. This is a very moving letter ... a transcript of it can be found here. 1001 - John writes to Frank in October 1953 expressing his regrets for not being able to attend Frank & Leona's wedding. The return address is the same as that of the family of John Duffy since before the war. 1239 - John writes to Frank in 1982 saying that living with Mrs. Duffy all these years [30+] was the "most pleasing as well as edifying experience" of his life.
Address(s):	1940: 146 92nd St, Brooklyn, NY 1940 Census Page: Lines 59, 60 & 61 1953 - Death: 364 72nd St., Brooklyn NY and 571 West Union St., East Bridgewater MA 02333
Other Info:	findagrave.com link


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