Marybeth
T. Hagan
Philly.com
Snow,
sleet, rain, and ice fell, along with trees and limbs, the day John Patrick
Stanton, 86, was buried.
'Twas
fitting. Inclement climate never slowed him down or put a halt to his
endeavors.
"Mr.
Stanton had no concerns about weather," said Edel Finnegan, executive
director of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia - the group Stanton
started, as the Pro-Life Coalition of Southeast Pennsylvania, in 1971. Neither
did the crowd that traveled to Jenkintown's Immaculate Conception Church
through a blizzard to pay respects to this son of Emerald Isle immigrants, a
feisty man of faith and family who loved all things Irish.
I,
too, was determined to be counted among those commemorating this good man who
granted me an interview back when I was a novice freelance writer with barely a
published word. For me, Stanton personified true leadership, complete with the
virtues of courage and humility, that so many others pretending to be leaders
today lack.
Over
time, I came to view this good man as a great one. And greatness is hard to
find.
So
I joined about 400 people attending Stanton's funeral Mass that dicey morning
of Feb. 5. They included the elderly, the middle-aged, young adults, teens,
toddlers, and babies. There were 16 priests and the Stanton Family Singers. The
U.S. Marine Honor Guard for Stanton, a U.S. Navy veteran, was staffed by his
grandchildren. Their salutes during Taps brought tears to almost all of our
eyes.
About
1,100 people had filed through the church during the five-hour viewing the previous
night, according to Tom McGoldrick of the Joseph J. McGoldrick Funeral Home.
This came as no surprise. The unassuming Stanton was a people magnet, the type
of person who easily conversed, befriended, and worked with individuals from
all walks of life.
In
his homily, the Rev. Chris Walsh compared Stanton to "a proud
falcon," the symbol for Stanton's alma mater Northeast Catholic High
School. Just as "the falcon stays in one place in life and always comes
home," said Rev. Walsh, "John was born, raised, and settled in
Jenkintown with Harriet," his wife of 63 years. Harriet and John raised
their 12 children there and welcomed all, including pregnant women who were
burdened with hardships, into their home. The couple had 46 grandchildren and
16 great-grandchildren.
Stanton
supported his brood by shaping operations for Honeywell Corp., B&F
Instruments Co., and Sherman Industries. After retirement, he labored full time
to build a culture of life. Whenever he worked in the Pro-Life Union offices,
he went home for lunch with Harriet.
"Pop
led by example," eldest son Patrick Stanton said in his eulogy.
For
30 years, John Stanton stood outside of area abortion clinics three days a
week, his son recalled. His dad had prayed outside Kermit Gosnell's clinic in
West Philly for 12 years before it was closed.
Patrick
noted that a woman named Brianna was among the mourners at his father's wake.
John Stanton had saved her from being aborted after meeting her mother outside
of Planned Parenthood's abortion facility at 12th and Locust Streets more than
25 years ago.
John
understood that being born is the most basic of human rights. And he was
prepared to save a life like Brianna's as the ultimate objective of social
justice.
When
mocked by those who opposed his pro-life views, John Stanton turned the other
cheek - most of the time. Once during a protest outside an abortion facility,
Patrick recalled, John put up a sign saying, "Jesus loves you and your
child." Three men in motorcycle gear kept strutting over and knocking down
the placard. John repeatedly propped it back up. After the third time, the wiry
activist marched over to the bulky bikers and told them to knock it off. They
did.
Things
sometimes got rough in the early days of pro-life demonstrations, Patrick said.
He remembered bruises on his father's face, a face that was also sprayed with
mace. And, in 1992, John was incarcerated upstate at Snyder County Prison.
David
Boldt, the former Inquirer editorial page editor who liked John Stanton while
respectfully disagreeing with him on abortion, wrote about the imprisonment:
"Stanton
and three others went to jail earlier this year for contempt of court after
they refused to pay the legal fees of an abortion clinic they had picketed in
violation of an injunction. The lengthy and complex civil litigation involved
defies easy summarization, but the bottom line for Stanton was that he
preferred to go to jail rather than 'pay money to an abortion company.' He
stayed in jail for 90 days and still hasn't paid.
"The
case didn't get much attention, which sort of surprised me. We don't have all
that many prisoners of conscience in America, and it seemed to me that if he
had been, say, an activist for an oppressed ethnic or racial minority group, he
and his colleagues would have gotten at least a brief moment in the national
media spotlight."
Even
some who held opposing views on abortion respected John. As Boldt aptly wrote,
"He exudes decency and goodwill."
That
decency included "utmost respect" toward women and goodwill for those
with troubles, noted Finnegan of the Pro-Life Union. "Mr. Stanton was so
sweet. He'd say to the girls, 'You're a beautiful mother.' "
"In
all my time working with him, for seven years, it was not about him, it was not
about Mr. Stanton," she said. "He was a visionary who never once lost
sight of the humanity of the unborn child and the difficult situation faced by
the mother. In every child and woman, he saw the image and likeness of
God."
May
this humbly heroic gentleman, who so generously shared his family's faith and
values in order to rescue the most vulnerable in this life, rest in peace with
his Maker in the next.
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