John Patrick "Jack" Haberlin, Jr.

John Patrick “Jack” Haberlin, Jr., age 79, passed away on Friday, May 15, 2026, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 11, 1947, he was the son of the late John and Marian (McGinley) Haberlin.

Jack grew up in Roslindale, attending Sacred Heart School and Catholic Memorial High School before moving on up the road to Northeastern University, where he studied engineering. In 1969, a mutual friend set him up on a blind date with her nursing school roommate- and this is how he met the love of his life, Sue. Jack and Sue would spend the next few years driving around New England together in his powder blue VW Beetle- sometimes with his surfboard (named Fred) on top. They were married on St. Patrick’s Day, 1972, and after a brief stint in Connecticut, settled in Walpole, Massachusetts, where they raised their daughters Karin and Bonnie. They would spend 57 years together – 54 of those married.

Jack joined the National Guard in 1970 in Massachusetts and completed his service in 1975 in Connecticut. His first professional job after college was with Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. About a year later, he accepted a position at Masoneilan in Norwood, where he had worked for his Northeastern co-op placement a few years prior. He would stay at Masoneilan for 44 years, in Norwood and later in Avon, until his retirement in 2012. While at Masoneilan, he innovated a sizing and specification computer program for control valves. Microsoft Windows was barely a thing when he started this project; he worked in the C programming language and spent many free hours noodling and tinkering with his code. His contribution was adopted nationwide and internationally. In the later part of his career, he would travel to France, Germany, and Italy to assist with training others in its use. Jack also earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Northeastern, attending classes at night and working on school assignments at the dining room table.

We already mentioned that he loved to surf the cold New England waters. Jack also enjoyed running when he was younger, competing in several races in the Boston area. In later years, to better support his knees, he tried geocaching and kayaking.

He was a passionate gardener while his kids were growing up; summer meals featured lots of tomatoes, corn, and other vegetables from his meticulously planned out plot. He also loved growing colorful, showy flowers – magenta dahlias, flaming orange marigolds, and candy cane zinnias were some of his favorites. One of his many woodworking projects was to carve his daughters’ names on the garden gate.

He was curious and methodical and was very often reading or watching something that would help him understand more about our world and how things work in it. Jack bought his first personal computer in the mid-1980s and was delighted with innovative technology.

He also loved genealogical research, and in the 1980s conducted a mail survey of all the Haberlins he could find in the United States (only about 50 at the time,) to learn more about their ancestral origins. Later, he would find several far-flung cousins online through websites such as Ancestry.com. He conducted additional family research in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the birth places of his grandparents. He and Sue also traveled to ancestral places: the coastal village of Carrigart in County Donegal, Ireland; and Strathglass valley in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.

Jack was the loving owner of several dogs: Alex, Zeke, Howie, Russell, and Hope. Most of them were purebred bearded collies – an intelligent herding dog breed originating from Scotland that is rare in this country.

After retirement, he and Sue bought an RV and traveled around the US on several grand adventures, accompanied by at least one dog. They also traveled to various places such as Hawaii and North Carolina with their favorite travel companions, his brother-in-law Alan Rowe and sister-in-law Sue Rowe.

He was devoted to his family and was often a playful Dad. He loved the music of the sixties and would have gone to Woodstock if it weren’t for one of his final exams that was very unfortunately scheduled. Jack delighted in playing air guitar to his favorite Jimi Hendrix tunes in pizza parlors, to the giggles of his daughters and amused eyerolls from his wife. In later years, he especially happy and proud to be “Pa” for his two grandsons.

He is survived by his wife Susan Y. (Rowe) Haberlin and his two daughters: Karin A. Haberlin and son-in-law David M. Wilson of Germantown, MD; and Bonnie M. Kowalsky and son-in-law Michael J. Kowalsky, Jr. of Walpole; and by his grandsons, Michael J. Kowalsky and Thomas F. Kowalsky.

He also leaves his brother-in-law Alan R. Rowe and sister-in-law R. Susan Rowe of Wilmington, Massachusetts and sister-in-law Maureen D. Rowe of Haverhill, Massachusetts as well many loving nieces, nephews, extended family, friends, and colleagues.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend John's Life Celebration on Saturday, May 30th, 2026, from 9:00 - 10:30 am in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole. A funeral home service will follow at 10:30 am, with interment at Terrace Hill Cemetery, Walpole.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Jack’s name may be made to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund by visiting https://www.stopbreastcancer.org OR to Habitat for Humanity by visiting https://www.habitat.org/.