John "Jack" Rabuse, 79, has passed away on June 8th, 2026

John M. Rabuse Jr. (Jack) passed away surrounded by the love of his family on Monday June 8, 2026, after a long illness. Jack was born in New York on August 2, 1946. His family moved to Danbury when he was a young child, and it was there he grew up roaming the woods and streams and developed his lifelong love of hunting and fishing. Jack attended St. Joseph’s Grammar School and graduated from Norwalk Catholic High School. He spent several summers working at the Danbury State Fairgrounds helping to prepare the site for the great event. He learned many construction skills while working with different contractors there and he put those skills to use in repairing and restoring his future homes.

For college, Jack commuted in his red Volkswagen to the very new Sacred Heart University where he met Karen Glancy, now his wife of 57 years. He spent his junior year abroad in Dublin, Ireland, where his early interest in history grew even stronger. Years later he and Karen revisited the places he loved as they backpacked through Europe.

Jack’s first full time job was as a social studies teacher at Bassick High School in Bridgeport, which he eventually left to join the corporate world at Pitney Bowes. He worked there from the early 70s until his retirement in 2008 as a senior executive, spending his last years traveling frequently to India on business.

The lure of the outdoors always beckoned, and in 2002 Jack and Karen realized their dream of owning a wooded lakefront property in the Berkshires. There they spent weekends and eventually retired. Jack served as Hunting Chairman and eventually president of their community, the Tunxis Club. He was known as an expert at dog training, and his Springer Spaniels were always popular with other hunters.

Jack and Karen were blessed with a great family, and the lakehouse became ground zero for numerous holiday gatherings. At the annual Oktoberfest, attended by relatives from several different states, apple strudel was made from an old family recipe. Children and grandchildren all participated in preparing the strudel, so the tradition was passed on to the next generation. Jack especially loved teaching his grandchildren about the outdoors. They learned to kayak, to sail, to fish and to shoot. Archery became a new hobby that Jack pursued until recent years. When the Berkshire winters became too cold, Jack and Karen spent those months in Florida but always returned in early spring so as not to miss turkey season or their grandkids’ baseball and softball games.

Jack’s was a life well lived. He will be truly missed by his family, his wife, Karen, and their children Brian (Amy), Lisa (Chris), Matthew (Meghan) and their grandchildren, Mars, James, Mollie, Madison, Jack, Dylan and Makayla. Jack is also survived by his brother Chris Rabuse and sisters Jeanne Mantich, Ann Rabuse and Betsy Schlichtig and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, 132 west 32nd Street, New York, New York 10001.

Family and friends are invited to gather on Sunday, June 14, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Cody-White Funeral Home, 107 Broad Street, Milford. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, June 15, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Ann’s Church, 501 Naugatuck Ave, Milford, CT 06460 (PLEASE MEET DIRECTLY AT CHURCH).

To leave online condolences, please visit our website at codywhitefuneralservice.com