John Fenwick Rea
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John Fenwick Rea, 82, of Greensboro, NC and formerly of Farmington and West Hartford, CT died Sunday 10/10/21 at Watauga Medical Center in Boone, NC.
John was born August 29, 1939 in Chicago, IL and raised in West Hartford, CT. The son of the late John Andrew and Margaret Fenwick Rea, John was a life long athlete, winning the 1957 CIAC CT High School state tennis title for Hall High School in West Hartford. He went on to the University of Connecticut where he captained the men's tennis team. John was also a drummer in his high school and college marching bands as well as a member of the performing chamber & madrigal choirs.
After graduating from college in 1961 with a degree in Physical Education & Athletic Administration John went on to work as the Director of Parks & Recreation for the city of West Hartford.
John struggled as a young man with alcoholism, an addiction from which he freed himself after moving to North Carolina in the late 1970s. He was a graduate of the Raleigh Rescue Mission's drug and alcohol rehabilitation program before acquiring a substance abuse counseling degree from UNC-Greensboro. He also became a certified non violent crisis intervention instructor, an area in which he taught classes for 25 years.
John spent the next 2 decades using his experience as a recovered addict as a counselor and Mission Director at the Greater Piedmont Teen Challenge, assisting young men in their battles with addiction. He was a member of Alamance Presbyterian Church where he sang in the church choir for many years. He was also an avid college basketball fan cheering on his Alma Mater UConn whenever there was an opportunity.
John was preceded in death by his wife Sharon and his sister Cynthia Garson and is survived by his sister Jane Rea of St Paul, MN, his daughter Jennifer McCarthy of Unionville, CT, son Peter of Blowing Rock, NC and 3 grandchildren Kyle McCarthy of Connecticut and Elyse and Sean Rea of North Carolina.
Online condolences may be sent to the Rea family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Services of Boone is in charge of arrangements.