I’m creating a fundraiser for this hero who just passed away this morning. The following is written by Cherie Estes, Wife of John Hannan.
Help Us Honor the Life of a 9/11 Hero, Detective, Father, and Papa
I am writing this with a broken heart and honestly, with very few words that feel big enough for the man we are trying to honor.
He was a hero long before we ever called him one.
He was a retired NYPD Detective and 9/11 first responder who dedicated his life to protecting and helping other people. He ran toward situations most people would run from. He spent his career serving others, and that sense of duty never left him.
But to us, he was so much more than his badge.
He was a husband. A father. A stepfather. A Papa. A friend. A mentor. He was a huge part of the foundation of our family and someone who helped shape the people we became.
He raised and loved a blended family, and he never made the distinction between the people he was born to and the people he chose to love. He was strong-minded, intelligent, stubborn in the best and sometimes funniest ways, and incredibly strong. When life gave him something difficult, he fought it.
And he fought until he simply couldn’t anymore.
We now understand that the service he gave on September 11th came at a devastating cost.
He developed a rare and extremely aggressive cancer called leiomyosarcoma, a cancer that ultimately became metastatic. After everything he had already endured throughout his life, our family has had to watch this disease take away the man who spent his entire life fighting for everyone else.
He received hospice care, and reached the end of his life early this morning.
There is no way to make this part easy to say.
We are asking for help with the financial burden that comes with the end of someone’s life; including hospice and end-of-life expenses, funeral and memorial costs, cremation/burial expenses, and other post-mortem expenses that our family will face.
Our family has been doing everything we can, but these costs are becoming overwhelming on top of the emotional weight of losing him.
If you knew him, you know that he would probably hate being the center of attention or asking anyone for anything. He spent his life being the person other people called when they needed help.
So now, we are asking for help for him.
If you are able to donate, no amount is too small. If you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser means more to our family than you may realize.
Every donation, every share, every kind word, and every prayer or thought for our family helps us honor him and gives us a little more room to focus on what matters most right now: being with him, loving him, and making sure he knows how deeply he is loved.
He spent his life helping others.
Now it is our turn to help carry him home.
Thank you for loving him, remembering him, and helping our family honor the life of an incredible man.
A detective.
A first responder.
A husband.
A father.
A Papa.
A hero.
And, most importantly, our family.
