SOUTH PORTLAND — John Michael Ginley, 73, of South Portland, died Oct. 18 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

He was born on Sept. 5, 1940, in Holyoke, Mass., a son of John J. and Anne E. Moriarty Ginley.

Ginley was a 1958 graduate of Sacred Heart High School in Holyoke and a 1963 graduate of St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. He earned a master’s degree at the University of Hartford in 1977.

He worked in the reinsurance field for many years, beginning his career with Guy Carpenter Inc. in New York City. He later worked for E.W. Blanch Co., also of New York City. He retired as vice president in the Chicago office of Crum & Forster in 1998. But he came out of retirement in 2000, when he accepted a position as an examined with the Maine Bureau of Insurance. He fully retired in 2006.

Ginley was a communicant of Holy Cross Church. He was actively involved with the Mended Hearts Program and served as a long-term volunteer at Maine Medical Center. He was an avid reader, and enjoyed walking and playing cards. He and his wife enjoyed traveling. Ginley also loved sports, especially watching college basketball. Friends and family will miss his Irish wit.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Sandra F. Ginley, of South Portland; two daughters, Barbara Ginley and husband Bradford MacCachran, of Portland, and Caroline Ginley and husband Michael Rogers, of Pittsboro, N.C.; son, Brian Ginley and wife Danelle Chereck; three sisters, Ann Dittrich, of Holyoke, Mass., Patricia Vogt and husband Edgar, and Jane McCarthy; brother, Jerome Ginley and wife Mary; mother-in-law, Mafalda Fanelli; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Barbara and Sidney Fowlds; four grandchildren, Cyrus and Tobias MacCachran, and Samuel and Ella Rogers; several nieces and nephews; and his four-legged pal, Murphy.

Visitation was held Oct. 21, at Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, South Portland. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Oct. 22 at Holy Cross Church, South Portland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the American Heart Association, 6 East Merrill Road, Lewiston, ME 04240, or to the South Portland Food Cupboard, P.O. Box 2892, South Portland, ME 04116.

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