Obituary of John Denis Behrens

John Behrens, 73, of Astoria, New York, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2018 in Reston, Virginia after a battle with colon cancer. John was predeceased by his parents, Remick V. and Margaret S. Behrens and a brother, Gregory James Behrens. He is survived by his siblings, Mary (Brian) McCarthy, Rev. James Stephen Behrens, OCSO, Robert (Marnie) Behrens, Meg (James) Brown, and Peter (Bonnie) Behrens. John is also remembered by his nieces and nephews: Brian (Amy) McCarthy, Meghan (Eric) Welch, Kate (Tim) Michalak, Molly (Kevin) Wack, Emily Brown, Chris (Alina) Brown, and Hannah Brown.

After serving with the US Army in Korea, John graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971 and began his career at CBS Broadcasting in New York. John had an instinctive love and knowledge of show business and broadcasting, and this served him well in his 47 years at CBS as he oversaw the ongoing maintenance and retention of the network’s history. As an accomplished pianist and organist with an encyclopedic knowledge of musical theatre, John devoted over 20 years to accompanying the Village Singers. He also served the congregation at the St. Joseph’s Chapel for St. Peter’s parish, adjacent to the World Trade Center, as their musical director and organist at Sunday Mass for many years. When he wasn’t playing music, you could find him in a New York bookshop or simply enjoying the city he loved to know and loved to share.

John will be dearly missed for his music, humor, generosity, and gentleness.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on Saturday, July 21 at 12:00 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 22 Barclay St., New York.   A funeral Mass will be held in the chapel of E.J. Fielding Funeral Home in Covington , Louisiana at 11:00 on Saturday, August 25.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Covenant House or a charity of your choice.