\t\t\tJohn Paul Mercer \t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tOBITUARY\t\t<\/p>\n
John Paul Mercer, born February 1, 1958, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, passed away on March 12, 2026, in Marana, Arizona.<\/p>\n
\nJohn was a beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle, godfather, and friend \u2013 known for his warm spirit and his remarkable gift for turning strangers into lifelong friends.<\/p>\n
\nHe is survived by his daughter, Brooke Douglas (Brian) of Factoryville, PA, and his son, Jared Mercer (Jennelle Hopkins) of Pittsburgh, PA. He cherished his grandchildren: James Williams, Jared Williams, Eva Mercer, and Kaylee Lively. He is also survived by Wendy Mercer, the mother of his children. John was preceded in death by his parents, C. Ken Mercer and Eleanor Mercer.<\/p>\n
\nJohn graduated from Abington Heights High School in 1976. He often reminisced about his high school basketball days, proudly sharing the newspaper clippings he had saved over the years featuring him and his team. In fact, his favorite coins to collect were those minted in 1976 \u2013 a meaningful nod to a time he held dear.<\/p>\n
\nJohn began his career selling and servicing office equipment in the family business, Mercer Sales and Service. Following the path paved by his father, Ken Mercer, and his brother, Chuck, he built a strong foundation that led to a successful career as a Software Consultant.<\/p>\n
\nHe is also survived by his siblings: Chuck Mercer (Marilyn) of Clarks Summit, PA; Rick Mercer (Diane) of Oro Valley, AZ; Debbie Price (George) of Delaware; Emy Mercer of Jessup, PA; Danny Mercer of Scranton, PA; and Judy Evans of Clarks Summit, PA, along with many loving nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n
\nJohn found his greatest joy in coaching his children, Brooke and Jared, in basketball, baseball, and softball \u2013 cherishing the time spent together on the field and court. He also had a passion for golf and playing horseshoes \u2013 activities that brought him both joy and camaraderie. Conversations with John often began with his familiar phrase, BY THE WAY, a hallmark of his personality that will be fondly remembered by all who knew him. He was a regular at the VFW in Clarks Summit, where he shared stories with old friends and, by the end of the evening, often left with new ones.<\/p>\n
\nIn keeping with John\u2019s wishes, there will be no formal church service, but rather a celebration \u2013 just the way he wanted it.<\/p>\n
\nIn true John fashion, a party will be held in his honor at the VFW in Clarks Summit on Saturday, April 18th, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Family and friends are invited to come together to share stories, raise a toast, and enjoy a cigar \u2013 just as he would have wanted.<\/p>\n
\nIn lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Abington Heights Sportsmen\u2019s Club, honoring John\u2019s passion for giving back to his community.<\/p>\n
\nSee you on the other side, but not to soon. I love you. DAD<\/p>\n
\nJohn Paul Mercer<\/p>\n
\nMarch 12, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Paul Mercer OBITUARY John Paul Mercer, born February 1, 1958, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, passed away on March…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-157901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}