John William Carney, Jr. 81 of Tinley Park passed away peacefully on June 23, 2026 with family by his side. He is survived by his loving wife Carol Burklow-Carney; cherished children Bridget (Ryan) Klapperich, the late Andrew Carney, Margaret (Chad O’Brien) Carney; devoted grandchildren Colin (Amy) Klapperich, Emma (Derek) Fox, Leo Klapperich; siblings Ruth Carney (Alan) Thomas, Peter (Susan) Carney, Mary Carney (Nick) Roman; fond uncle of numerous nieces and nephews.

John was a was a loving husband, father, and brother. He was an avid reader of detective novels and he enjoyed riding with the Iron Sissies Motorcycle Club. John graduated in 1962 from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, S.I.U. with a B.A in English and teaching certificate. He also graduated from C.S.U. with an M.A. in Linguistics and an educational administration degree. He was mentioned several times in Who’s Who Among American teachers. He was a highly respected, lifelong educator at Bloom High School, Thornton Fractional High School and James Hart Junior High School where he served as an English teacher, assistant principal and retired as principal.

Services will be private.