John V. LaPorte

47 Tributes for “John V. LaPorte”

Mr. LaPorte will be sadly missed by all. My family and I, all who’ve been photographed by Mr. LaPorte at one time or another, wish to offer our sincere condolences at his loss. May God rest his soul and give His peace and comfort to you all. He was such a kind man and will be remembered fondly.

“There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone the light remains.” ~Unknown
John Laporte was that “LIGHT”. He was an icon to our community. A friend to all & beloved by anyone that really knew him. I was grateful to call him a friend myself & enjoyed dropping by to visit on occasion. He was always willing to go the extra mile for a great photograph & so giving of his time & energy. His “light” will live on in the hearts of those who knew & loved him. Our thoughts & prayers & our deepest sympathies to his family & those closest to him…

Mary Beth my heart is breaking for you. I am so sorry that we couldn’t pray him back to you . He’s in Gods hands now and breathing beautifully.

Our family sends love, prayers, & peace to you all. We are so saddened by John’s passing & feel so blessed that our paths crossed with you, Mary Beth , & John. We will keep you surrounded by prayer. Let your faith be your strength & hold all those special memories close to your hearts. Hugs. ❤️❤️

Mary Beth and loved ones of John,
As you prepare for Thursday and saying farewell, we want you to know we wll attend the mass via the live-streamed option.
John was a our class reunion photographer, as well as did our Brock Family portraits. He will be greatly missed and we send our deepest sympathy. Peace be with all of you.

John was a life-long friend! First as my family’s “paperboy,” then Don’s BEST friend throughout high school! As Bay students, we traveled Europe together (oh the stories. . .) and he drove a car load of friends down to Muskegon to be supportive of me in a competition I was in. He was Best Man at our wedding and I helped him settle into “the Shop” when he first bought it—so excited to start his career. I remember when he called me back in the late ‘80’s to tell me he had met a “girl” at the fair—and of course the rest is history! Throughout the years, he was always there. Sometimes just a “wave” as we kayaked passed the cabin and he was mowing the lawn. Sometimes a supportive shoulder like at my mother’s funeral. I always told him he needed to retire and smell the roses. He’d laugh and say “someday!” I will miss the three and four texts per day that he’d send—filled with wisdom, political enlightenment, humor and of course his love for dogs and Vespas! Yes, we had a “lifelong friendship!” His “life” may be gone now—but our friendship remains in our memory forever! Just like your love for him! Obviously he will be missed by the many he touched with his smile. PEACE to you our dear John! We trust that you are once again in the loving care of your departed mom, dad, and grandmother! Our condolences to Mary Beth, sisters Mary and Nancy and the extended family! Our hearts are heavy!

We are broken-hearted at the loss of one of our Players de Noc family. John was so kind and giving (and very patient) with us, shooting our lobby photos for many, many years. We are going to miss his gracious nature and wonderful sense of humor as he gathered us up and got us ready for our”close-ups.” Mary Beth, thank you for sharing this wonderful man with us for all these years.

Marybeth and Family,
Jim and I send our heartfelt condolences to you all. We will be praying for strength for you and your family Thursday as we watch the service for John. He is at peace now after a valiant fight. God’s blessing to you. May you feel the love, care, and prayers of so many. Such a testament of John and the life he lived.

Our deepest sympathy, Mary Beth and family! John took our school photos every year and our children’s graduation photos. As a teacher, I watched every year, how special John made each student feel and made them smile for that perfect, captured moment. He was so patient and kind with each and everyone of them. I will always remember the box of Sayklly’s candy he would bring in on Picture Day! That was above and beyond his call of duty!

John also took pictures for Player’s de Noc. He sure knew how to portray each character based on talking to the actors about their role.

It was a great pleasure and honor to know John! He will be greatly missed by many!

God’s Blessings!
You will be in our thoughts and Prayers!

Pat and Sue Gannon

Of course John tooknour wedding photos he was THE photographer to get…i always enjoyed running into him around town and catching up. I am so sorry for your loss. Many blessings and prayers for peace…he will truly be missed…

John you will be in the hearts of everyone in central delta county! I have known you my whole life going back to the Photoart days when you worked with my father Gordan Sullivan. You were always so nice to us kids and thru the years we kept in touch with my daughters having school pics and dance pics every year. Prayers to the LaPorte family

Dear, Mary Beth & Family with deepest sympathy on hearing of John’s death. We knew John by taking pictures every year of our 3 children at Rapid River. But most of all, his kindness to our family when my son passed away. His generosity of his gift of giving each student at school of picture of son, Tim. We will never forget John. You & your family will forever be in our prayers & thoughts forever. Dennis & Kathy Wotchko

Mary Beth, My deepest sympathy to you and yours and Johns’s family. He was a long time friend of mine from Bay. We stayed connected when he went to NMU and I EMU.
He was the photographer at my wedding.
Over the years when I’d return to Gladstone, we’d have coffee, or I would stop at the studio to say “Hi”.

I feel honored to have shared a friendship with him over these many years, a tribute to his caring and gentle nature.

I will miss him. God’s Blessings to you and the family.

Our deepest sympathy to you Mary Beth and family with John’s passing!! I will never forget all the good times had by working with John at my family’s “Pete’s Grocery” neighborhood grocery store in our high school years !! He was always like a big “bro” to me and many others too in our HNHS class of 1967 ! His most kind and loving heart/spirit was omnipresent wherever he was too!! His love/talents with photography showed through with every photoshoot he did! He did both our sons grad pictures and both turned out just absolutely perfect!! We all LOVE YOU JOHN and you will be so missed by so very many hearts that you touched daily! We know you are in a better place surrounded by GODS LOVE so dear friend/classmate REST IN PEACE !!

Dear Mary Beth, I find it very hard to put into words what John meant to our family and to the community. He was a stellar businessman and a wonderful human being that we were blessed to know.YEARS of family portraits, elementary school portraits, and graduation portraits adorn my walls. He always had a kind word to say or a pleasant story to share, especially about times ar his Ford River escape! I witnessed him several times tending the gravesite of his in laws- hauling water and pruning. We prayed many prayers for him, and now cry many tears with you. RIP John. You will never be forgotten.

Dear MaryBeth, our hearts go out to you and your family. John will be terribly missed by many, our family included. He was a stellar business man and a wonderful man, whether he was just sharing a pleasant greeting or a heartwarming story about your time on the Ford River. I have years of family, grade school, and graduation pictures on my walls. His pictures showed how much he cared about each individual.We prayed many prayers for him to recover, and now we shed many tears for your loss. Rest In Peace John…. You’ll be missed.

John did my school pictures every year from when we moved here in 2002 to senior year. When he did my senior pictures he made me feel so comfortable that I had fun with it. He will be truly missed. My heart goes out to his family during this difficult time.

Words cannot adequately describe how sad we are to lose such a great friend. John’s verve for life, positive attitude, and willingness to always go the extra measure to meet the needs of love ones, friends, customers, and his community are uplifting memories we’ll cherish forever. Our prayers go out for Mary Beth and John’s extended family. Escanaba will not be the same without John. Nor will we.
Ken Gartland / Jon Taylor / Ed Gillespie

He will be missed by many he did so many of my school pictures some even with a pet I even took my cat Sabrina once he did suck a good job n I loved going there for my pictures

John was a classmate of mine at Holy Name. Since ours was a somewhat smaller high school, we had the opportunity to know and appreciate our classmates and all they contributed to those very special years. The memories live forever. Although I moved to Wisconsin after graduation and remained there until my retirement (when my husband and I made our home here) , I did cross paths with John at class reunions and sought him out for his photography skills when I was in Escanaba and our family needed a really great photographer. I am saddened by John’s passing and want to express my condolences to his wife and family at this difficult time. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

My son and I were blessed to meet John last spring when we went to get Whitelys grad pictures done. He sat with our dog Bogart…..John was absolutely thrilled and totally enjoyed our pup. We moved here a few years back and didn’t have any idea where to go for pics. We are so so glad we chose John and will hold him close in our hearts for many years to come!!! Thank you John for making us feel so welcome and giving us such wonderful grad pictures!! Rest in peace…

I first met John when I volunteered to help him with school pictures back in 1982. He was so easy to get to know, and we stayed friends all these years. I so looked forward to when he came to our school for pictures, always fussing with the girls’ hair so he could see their eyes, LOL! He wasn’t satisfied until he had the perfect “look”. When I was yearbook advisor he’d come and take the group/club pictures on his own time, never charging for them. John also took senior pictures for those students whose family couldn’t afford professional pictures, never charging for them as well. He was such a good person. I always enjoyed visiting with him, usually at Elmer’s in the more recent years. Always with a smile on his face, and ALWAYS talking about his beloved MaryBeth and his cottage/cabin. That was his joy in life beyond the photography. John was special, and I’m going to miss him. My deepest sympathy to you, MaryBeth. I felt I knew you even though we never met. I’m so sorry for all his family…

Our heartfelt condolences to your family -we are so sad to hear of the loss of John. Years ago, John took our daughters baby, family and graduation portraits. He was a stable to the community. He was so nice to work with and was always laughing. Thoughts and prayers of peace and comfort to you… Ann and Tom England

John was a good man and the Esky community will be all the smaller without him. I got to know John while I was working for the Daily Press in the 1980’s. He was a talented photographer. My condolences to his family.

Dear Mary Beth and family,
Our heart felt sympathy to you and your family. John was such a kind decent man.
Every time we look at our children’s’ graduation pictures or our family photo in our Irish sweaters we bought in Ireland we will think of John and say a prayer for you and your family.

John took so many photographs of people smiling, May you smile when you think of cherished memories of your beloved husband, John.
May God grant you peace when you need it most.
Sincerely with deep sadness,
Val and John Hickner

John was the photographer at our wedding on Feb. 22, 1974. That might not be a special day for you but that is also the day that Johns father passed away but yet he came and took our wedding pictures because he told us he would. What a wonderful man. God bless your family.

Mary Beth and Family,

Bo and I and our children were deeply saddened to hear of John’s passing. I was always struck by his kind and thoughtful ways. Although your heart is breaking over your profound loss, I know God will comfort, guide and sustain you. He will see you through this hard time. You and your family will continue to be in our prayers.

Bo and Diana Lange

You are in our thoughts and prayers. He was such a nice man. He took my graduation photos as well as my brother and sisters. He will be missed by so many.
God Bless,
Angie Hansen

Marybeth, we are so saddened, and we are praying hard for god to give you, Rob and Courtney the strength to bear the grief. Our deepest condolences to all the family. I remember when we first moved to 21st Ave., you and John were so welcoming. We will always remember how John would wave to Vineeth, who was born right after we moved in, on his way back from work or walk over and speak to him. Just like so many people whose lives have been touched by John, we will always remember him as a wonderful and kindhearted friend and neighbor. We are so blessed that our paths crossed. Rest in Peace, John. We will miss you.

So sorry for loss,John was a wonderful man.we spent a lot of time with his family especially Mary @Nancy whom we went to Holy Name with.He will be greatly missed.Cheryl Anderson Lemerand and Karen Anderson Hardwick

Mary Beth and Family.
So sorry for your loss. Met John many years ago when he began his business. Great man. Blessings and prayers.
God Bless,
Bill Therrian

Mary Beth – our sincere condolences to you and your family. We knew John through the photos he took of our children throughout the years, as well as family, and other photos for us, creating beautiful memories that we cherish. Thinking of you all during this very difficult time-Bill and Sharon Gray

John and Sally touched our family when we had our twins photographed while in the belly progressively and every year up til last year age 5. Many people may not know how much John cared for those he did photo shoots. He always went the extra for us and my heart cries that we could not see him again. God bless you and all who mourn for him. He will very much be missed and felt like our family. What an awesome person; he will be remembered for a very long time. Will see you in heaven, John!!

Please accept my deepest condolences. Although I have not seen Mr. LaPorte in years, I have very fond memories of him. He was a creative, kind and caring.

John was an amazingly talented photographer who has been a role model to me in my own photography career. I have admired his work for many many years and was thrilled when he said he would do our wedding photos back in 1999 even though he had said he didn’t do weddings (same with me). They turned out beautiful and I will cherish them along with all the photos he took of our son Keaton over the years. Not only was he an awesome Photographer but such a genuinely nice, kind and wonderful man. My heart aches for you Marybeth and the rest of the family. Please know I will continue to keep all of you in my prayers. John you are loved and missed by many but someday we will see you again.

MaryBeth, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. John was a special man who was gracious and kind and could put anyone at ease. He will be sorely missed by those in the community. So sorry that our prayers couldn’t bring him back to you. May you hold onto all the precious memories you have made over the years in your heart. God bless.

Dear Mary Beth and Family,
Our hearts go out to you with deepest sympathy. John’s passing is such an enormous loss for you, your family and for the entire community. John was one of the good guys. Everyone liked and respected John. You are in our thoughts & prayers during this very difficult and sad time.
Tim & Nancy LeGault

I was so saddened to hear about John. Like so many others, John took many pictures of my family over the years, but my best connection was working with him when he did our school pictures. He was so easy to work with. His personality made him the successful photographer he was – kind, caring, giving, friendly, & passionate for what he did. He was an asset to the community & will be missed by all.
Sincere condolences & hugs to John’s wife & family.

Mary Beth and family,
So sorry to hear the news about John. He knew everyone and photographed everyone! Brought a smile to all. We are thinking of you during these difficult days. Take care of yourself. Our prayers and thoughts are with you all.

Kim (Coyne) and Kelly Havinga

My prayers are with you and your family, Mary Beth. John was such a kind and decent man, a pillar of the community. Many prayers were said, God needed him , even though we may not understand why. May His peace be with you.

Mary Beth
John was a fixture in Escanaba. Everyone knew and loved John. He was kind, calm and welcoming to everyone. My favorite photo of my 3 kids is one that John took almost 15 years ago. It hung in his studio window for a year, and then it became mine and it continues to be highlighted in our foyer. John adored you-I could always see it when he looked like yours. A love like that is rare and special. Prayers for you during these difficult days and times ahead.

many years ago…I had a senior in high school and very little money. I went in and ask if he would take “a” picture for me. After we talked awhile he arranged for her to help him with some things and he would take her pictures…so kind..so helpful…so understanding…I have and never will forget that day…. or him. God Bless you Mary Beth…and your family. Our community has lost a treasure. May you find comfort in your memories.

Continued prayers to you and family. Knowing he was loved and will be missed by so many may bring you some comfort, it surely helped when my son passed. Hold close the memories you shared and know you will be together again some day. Hugs

Mary Beth, i am sincerely sorry for the loss of your devoted John. My prayers for you and your family. He will be missed by so many people. Love to watch him work taking pictures of kids at school. He was sincere and attentive to each individual little one. He will be taking pictures of angels in heaven. Hugs and love. Sally Young

John took ALL of my school pictures, graduated from Bark River High School 1981 and my kids in Gladstone. My and my daughters grad pictures. He has and was a phenomenal man and photographer!!

Our family is deeply saddened to learn that John has passed. He was our neighbor and we were all very fond of him. He was always a good and supportive friend, and we will miss him. May God bless him and keep him safe. He will be in our thoughts and prayers.
The Lionel LaBelle Family

I am so sorry to hear of John’s passing. I worked with John for 15 years doing the pictures for the athletic office at Gladstone High School. That is a tough job working with all the kids. He was so patient and good to the kids.

Marybeth, he loved talking about you and the cabin. He loved his life. You will be in my prayers.

Gina Potvin