McMahon, Joseph Patrick, August 4, 2015, age 46 Beloved husband of Nancy. Loving father of Mara, Megan and Joseph. Dearest son of John and the late Joan. Dear brother of John Jr. (Susan) and Julie Jensen (Jeff). Loving uncle of Lauren, Marina, Chelsea and Olivia. J.P. will be dearly missed by many loving family and friends from around the world. Funeral Service Saturday 11:00 am at Guardian Lutheran Church, 24544 Cherry Hill, Dearborn. Gathering 10:00 am. Visitation Friday 1-9 pm at the Dearborn Chapel of the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home, 22546 Michigan Ave. www.howepeterson.com There was a kindness in his eyes and a social network in his heart. That's how I would describe my brother if I only had one sentence to tell the story. However, I have a little space so I would like you to know who he was to us as a family who adored him to his very last breath around six pm, August 4, 2015. So, let me remind the clock a few years to the very beginning. Joseph Patrick McMahon was born on November 8th, 1968. He shared a birthday with his late Uncle Larry and was born in the affluent suburb of Detroit, Grosse Pointe. It was fitting that a man who loved looking good, had eclectic taste in food, watches and fine clothing to be born in such an upscale hamlet. The house we started our lives in was a very, very modest starter home. The sage green asbestos-tiled ranch sat 13 homes from Kelly Road in Harper Woods. JP soon became a very social baby with his henna colored curly locks to the infectious smile that never left him long into his adult years. It was in Harper Woods that JP would soon develop early loves. Hot wheels cars, Matchbox cars, Evel Knievel motorcycles and SSP hot rods were the first foray into a love of wheeled vehicles. He also was a fashion magnate, wearing the latest in 1970's fabric couture including red crushed velvet disco vests and toughskin jeans. Soon, JP would have to share the spotlight with a baby sister in 1973 and not long after, that 800 square foot home became too crowded. Still, he shined on in his own way. In 1975, the McMahon family moved west. Dearborn Heights was the suburb of choice where he would spend his formative years in the cul-de-sac on Rosemary street, affectionately known as the "court." The court is where we all played every sport we could. From Wiffle ball with a built in strike zone, a webbed lawn chair to the football games on the lawn. Stick ball, kickball, dodgeball, snow plow pile sledding and frisbee were staples of the court and all were welcome. Our parents had a pool in the backyard. A 15' X 30' above ground aluminum watering hole, suitable for parties, exercise and the annual celebratory dunking of the middle child festival. The festival including rounding up all the middle children in the residence and initiating the pool's opening by launching him into the cold waters. This ritual was performed year over year without fail. As JP grew up, his love for food was developed by the Slovak matriarchs, my mother and grandmother. They tutored him in the ways of the spoon until he took his first jobs as cooks and waiters despite my grandmother's pleas that he should avoid the industry at all costs. He graduated from Riverside and Crestwood High School in 1986. He received diplomas from both schools as the crosstown rivals were integrated into a single high school. In a career move, our father moved 80% of the family to the East Coast where they set up shop in the shopping Mecca of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. JP furthered his studies in the culinary arts and bought his dream car, a Porsche 924. Or as my father recalls it, the Poorsche. Once the exile from Michigan was concluded, the family moved back to Michigan where they moved 600 miles to move two miles from the original Dearborn Heights estate. This move proved to be the best move of his life. JP was working his way through his extended college career by serving steaks and libations at the moderately upscale establishment, Mountain Jacks. It was here that his life would be indelibly changed by a red-headed hostess who caught his eye and lassoed his heart. Nancy entered JP's life and the two were married in 1995 and began the journey that would last twenty years. Nancy helped JP become what he was meant to be, she helped him mature, gave him focus and never stopped loving him. A little later as JP ventured out into the world of technology, he started to grow into the expert on many computer systems and networks. The most notable of these networks was his social network. JP began another career soon after his marriage to Nancy, one that would build a legacy for his future beyond any vocation. He became a dad, not once, not twice but three times. Mara, Megan and Joey would become his own affluent treasures. He loved his children more than anything. He would go to great lengths to take them on adventures and never let go of their hearts. Long before Facebook and Twitter JP pioneered his own personal networks of friends. From the neighbors who waved goodbye to the u-haul moving van from their porches on Woodcrest to the many people who came in contact with him across the globe, his friends network was one of continuous amiable growth. As we celebrate his entrance into heaven from the frail human form, this big brother is proud of the man he became. A great husband, great father, a great son, a great brother, a great cousin, a great friend, a great colleague, a great cook, a great aficionado of fine things and a great soul who impacted more lives globally than any one of us knew. He was unique and your relationship with him was unique, no matter who you were. Our souls are more affluent because of his. Rest in Peace Little Brother, with love in my heart and a tear in my eye, John