My brother John Breckenridge passed away Monday, May 17th 2021, unexpectedly in his sleep. This is a very difficult time for my family as we all loved John very much. Your kind regards, prayers, and thoughts are all greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Funeral Services were as follows:
Strowder’s Funeral Home
822 East 105th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44108
Monday 5/24/2021 – Family Viewing 4 pm
Tuesday 5/25/2021 – Visitation 10 am – 7pm
Wednesday 5/26/2021 – Wake 2 pm, Funeral 2:30 pm
John was cremated after this service and a Memorial with his ashes was also held in Cincinnati, Ohio at Montgomery Community Church on Friday, June 4th at 2:00 pm
This is one of my favorite photos of my family, it includes most of my siblings. I’m at the end, I popped up at the last moment. Next to me is my brother Brian, next to him is John, in the red striped shirt and white hat. Next to him is my sister Pearl, then Radisia, then Kendall, who is holding Anika. The occasion was the groundbreaking ceremony for our church (in Cincinnati), it had moved from our old neighborhood Roselawn to the suburb Montgomery and they built a new building from the ground up. Every family took a photo. Right before this John had organized all the church kids our age and took us on an impromptu tour around the grounds lol. It was a fun, grand day!
John loved my children so much. He was so proud of them and always encouraged and supported them. They are as shattered as I am. Their Uncle John is gone.
Rest in peace brother John. One of the things I will be forever grateful to my parents for is how they exposed us to nature. Fishing, camping, canoeing, hiking, etc. We were always outside doing something. John really liked fishing as a kid.
This is a good pic of John and some of my siblings and I as kids. Back row, from left to right: my sister Tanya, my sister Tina, my cousin Celeste. Front row: my brothers Kendall aka Rico, Brian, and John, my cousin Kwanza, and then me in the corner. Yes, Kwanza and I are dressed identical, we are weeks apart in age and our mothers are twins…they dressed us alike when we were together until we were close to 5 lol. Look at his smile, what a cute little boy John was. I don’t recall much about being 3 but I remember Kwanza and I being fascinated by our older sisters and laughing and playing with John. Often the bigger kids didn’t want to be bothered with us, which is understandable, but John always played with us. Also in the pic is my younger cousin Faraha, my sister Tanya was holding her. She got cut off in this pic, I’ll have to find the other one.
My brothers Kendall, John, and Brian. John is in the center. Kendall is the tallest, Brian is in the light blue suit. Brian passed away in 1997. Now John is gone. John was the oldest of my parent’s marriage, and he was the glue that, even as children, united all the Breckenridge kids together. My older brothers would fist-fight anyone that said he was ‘just’ their half-brother. I still can’t believe he is gone.
The funeral was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I guess I didn’t truly…get the finality of my brother’s death until the end. When they closed the casket on him that broke my heart all over again. I understand the importance of funerals and that they help the family and friends to say good-bye and understand their loved one is gone, but I wish I hadn’t seen that. It was very shocking to me, it was like I’d never been to a funeral before or knew it was coming. It was a small service due to Covid restrictions, we do appreciate the outpouring of love and support from all his friends and family who could not be there, as well as everyone who came to the visitation. Obituary and video is on the funeral home website: https://www.strowderfh.com/obituary/john-breckenridge
[…] especially my husband and father. This past Father’s Day was pretty hard for my dad, because my brother John passed away so recently. But he sounded ok when I called, and my sisters in Cincinnati took him and my mom out to dinner. […]