| Date of Birth | March 29, 1976 |
| Passed Away | October 27, 2008 |
| Place of Residence | Canisteo |
| Home State | NY |
| Service Date | October 31, 2008 |
| Service Time | 11:00 AM |
| Service Location | Christ Episcopal Church |
| Interment Location | Woodlawn Cemetery |
LIEUTENANT JOHN D. “BOOTS” DAY
CANISTEO-Lieutenant John D. “Boots” Day, 32 of 2813 Gravel Run Road., passed away early Monday morning (Oct. 27, 2008) at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle in the Town of Canisteo on Sunday evening
Born in Hornell on March 29, 1976, he was a son of Joseph and Sandra Larnard Day. On April 26, 2002 he was married in Hopewell to the former Elysia M. Weakland, who survives.
A graduate of Hornell High School, John also attended Fingerlakes Community College and Corning Community College. In 1996 he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and attained the rank of Corporal before his honorable discharge in 2000.
Following his discharge from the Marine Corps he attended Genesee Community College and received his certification for a New York State Police Officer. He served as a police officer for the Villages of North Hornell, Portville and Canisteo. He was presently employed as a Sergeant with the Bath Veterans Administration Medical Center Police and was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant.
John loved spending time with his family and vacationing with them as well as watching movies, walking, hunting and fishing.
A loving husband, father, son and brother, his family includes his wife of 6 years, Elysia; his two daughters, Julia M. Day and Brittney M. Weakland; his mother, Sandy (Paul) Johnson of Almond; his father, Joseph Day (Ellen Stewart) of Hornell; his brother, Joe (Nikki) Day of Rochester; his sister, Angela (Chet) Yanni of Hornell; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, George and Cynthia Weakland of Canisteo; his brother in law, David Weakland of Arkport; his aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and his extended family, Todd (Briana) Stewart of Palmyra and Kyle Stewart of Canton.
John was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Theodore Larnard and Audrey Larnard Sears and his paternal grandparents, Chauncey and Dolores Day.
Calling hours are from 1-3 and 6-9 p.m. Thursday at the Bishop & Johnson Funeral Home, Inc., 285 Main St., Hornell. Friends are invited to meet his family at Christ Episcopal Church in Hornell where a Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, with the Rev. Thomas Gramley officiating.
Interment, with police and military honors, will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, Canisteo.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing may contribute in his memory to the Hornell Area Humane Society, PO Box 533, Hornell, NY 14843 (envelopes will be provided at the funeral home) or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
John Day’s warm and friendly smile will be greatly missed. He made all of us here on DePaul, at the Bath VA, feel welcomed, and apart of the VA family. I will also miss talking about camping in the Adirondack mountains and sharing the latest pictures from the last trip.
John Day’s warm and friendly smile will be greatly missed. He made all of us here on DePaul, at the Bath VA, feel welcomed, and apart of the VA family. I will also miss talking about camping in the Adirondack mountains and sharing the latest pictures from the last trip.
I knew when you first started work with us that I was going to like you and enjoy working with you. We have been through a lot, and have had several funny moments. You will be sorely missed, my friend. You were an excellent partner, trainer, husband, father, and friend. To me, no one can take the place of the “Junior Marine”.
Our heartfelt sympathy to the Day and Weakland families. We will always remember John’s smile and know how he touched so many lives. John, we will miss you.
You were a great trainer, partner and person. You had the ability to raise our spirits and morale simply by your presence and smile. You had the most impeccable work ethic and personality I have ever known. Nobody has ever impacted me in such a short time as you have. We miss you John.
Officer “Cookie Man” you will be sorely missed. – Beth – Recreation Therapist, VAMC – Bath, NY
Alisha and family. I am so sorry to hear theloss of your husband, father,brother,son,ect. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time.
I will surley miss your bright smile and how you always seemed to have time to say Hi. I appreciated you caring heart and the way you cared for the veterans here. You will be sorely missed.
May God bless the family of John Day. Just know God is holding you all in the palm of his hands. Through the tears, just know there are rainbows in heaven. Shalom
Joe and Ellen, so sorry for your loss. He was a great kid and will be greatly missed. Joe,I know you were very proud of him. Our prayers are with you.
John Day is well known for his smile, his willingness to help in the ER, his love for his family, and his sense of humor. Which we were all victims of his sense of humor. John will always continue to smile, but he will smile down on us from Heaven. John you earned your wings and we will never forget you.
I first met office Day when I started working at the VA at the Detox Unit and now with his encouragement I am now a VA employee. We spent many a nights sharing our stories with lots of laughs. He looked forward to getting his nightly Goodie treat. Always smiling and such a wonderful person. I will truely miss him.
John always brought the positives to any room. His warmth, strength and dedication were a rare combination that will be truly missed. My family’s deepest sympathies to his loved ones.
Our hearts ache for your families on the loss of John. He was a wonderful young man! Joe & family-we’re here for you…I know Bill will miss running into John at the VA. Sincere sympathies to the Weakland family as well.
Our deepest sympathy to John’s entire family. We remember John and his brother Joey growing up on Elmwood Place and coming over to our house on McDougal Avenue and playing sports with our boys. We called him Johnny. He was always laughing and giggling about something and we cannot remember a time that he did not have that beautiful smile on his face. We started calling him “Smiling John” and that name stuck as we saw him grow in to an awesome young man. Keep “Smiling John” and let that smile shine down on your family. You will be greatly missed.
I am glad I had the opportunity to meet you twice upon my visits to the VA Police Dept. You liked my cookies and I thought what a nice man to say “these cookies are good”. My condolences goes out to John’s family and the VA Police Dept. and all of his dear friends. John can visit with my husband in heaven and all of his family and friends.
God Bless you and give you strength in your time of loss.
In all the years I have worked at the VA, I have never met anyone as wonderful as John. He was a kind, caring, honest individual who adored his family and took great pride in his profession. His radiant smile was contagious and would brighten every room he entered! My heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Johns entire family. He will be greatly missed and forever in our hearts.
Sandy and Family – It broke our hearts when we heard about “Smiling John”. We remember Johnny as a little boy coming over to our house with his brother Joey and playing sport games with our boys. He had a beautiful smile and was always laughing and giggling about something which would make us all start laughing. We started calling him “Smiling John”. As he grew in to an awesome young man we would see him once in awhile and he always had that same great smile on his face. Keep “Smiling John” and let that smile shine down on your family. Your will be greatly missed.
I have only known John in the last year through working at the VA. He always had a smile on his face and was easy going and approachable. He was a great help to me in obtaining gun safety educational materials and gun locks for my program. He was genuinely concerned about being of assistance to the veterans and staff at the Bath VAMC. He always conducted himself with personal integrity and will be greatly missed.
It was a priveledge to know John. He had a warming smile and laugh! John you will be missed! God Bless You and Your Family!
We are very sorry for your loss. We just met him Saturday while out daughter was there for a Halloween party and he seemed like a great guy. We are praying for you and your family.
Now thats a SMILE that will never be forgotten.
Sincere condolences go out from our family to yours, now and forever.
To the entire Day family I am so sorry for your loss I remember growing up with Johnny playing basketball at Columbian School for hours upon end.He will be greatly missed I feel lucky that I had him as a friend.
My love and sympathy to you all. Life is so very fragile. May God bless you all and comfort you during this sad time. John’s smile and memories of his wonderful life will keep you smiling during the days and weeks ahead. God bless
Johnny we will always love you and miss you dearly. My Condolences go out to Joe, Sandy, Joey, Angela and the rest of your family. I will never forget the times of playing hoops at columbian school or wood street. Playing release in the local neighborhood and sneaking out the nintendo and playing it when we weren’t supposed to. I will never forget that smile that laugh and that terrific sense of humor. Please look over us and protect us. We all love you and miss you
John’s huge smile and sunny disposition will be greatly missed at the Bath VA. God bless his family and please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.
I was just reading all of the remembrances before puting mine in & wow!What a legacy John left behind. His family sure had a wonderful person in their life. I met John thru working at DePaul in the VA when him and his fellow Officers would come up and check on us. After getting to know them,I gave some of them nick names. Like a couple of them were Starcky & Hutch, one is Officer Huggy-Bear and John was Officer Roscoe. Everytime we called him that he would laugh.Although we still find all this hard to beleive, we will always remember him standing here talking with us and of course with always a smile. We still expect him to get off the elevater. He sure did touch everyone’s heart. He will truly be missed.It was also plan to see how much he loved his wife and kids. My heart goes out to you and the rest of his family. I will keep you in my prayers, that God will give you the strengh to go on and I truly beleive that Our Officer Roscoe will always be with you and watching over you. God Bless You All
Family, My name is Dr.Gary E. Churchill. John was a student in my current on-line Corrections class at Genesee Community College. Therefore I’ve never met John, however I have communicated with him by e-mail in the course. I’m very sorry to get the news of his death today ( 11-14-2008 ) through the college and I will notify all of the students in this class. I’m sorry for your loss.