John Paul Birney Sr. of Hartly, DE was born on December 7th, 1950, in Newark, Delaware to the late Hazel Birney and the late David T. Birney. He departed this life January 4, 2025, at University of Pennsylvania Hospital (HUP). At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Beth (of 54 years), four children, their spouses, and one of his grandchildren. His untimely death came after a nearly seven-month battle with gastrointestinal issues stemming from a surgery in June 2024. Spending his last several months between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities took its toll on both him and his family. His passing has left a profound void in the hearts of his family, friends, and all who knew him.

John was a 1969 graduate of Christiana High School. Throughout his life, his careers spanned many different specialties from auto mechanic, wastewater treatment for a chemical refinery, manager of auto and retail shops, to where he finally found his calling as a paramedic. After his medical retirement as a paramedic, John still maintained his foothold in the realm, often teaching Advanced and Basic Life Support courses along with First Aid and CPR, and selling/servicing automatic defibrillator devices. He was always looking to give back to his community and if his teaching could save one more life, it was worth all of his time and effort. John has been involved in many organizations over the years including scouting, volunteer ambulance service with Station 64 out of Smyrna, DE, and the Ruritan out of Kenton, DE. On the day of his death John was set to receive his 45 years of Scouting medal from Cub Scouts and the President's Gold Key Award from the Ruritan National.

John originally grew up in Newark, DE before finally settling for the majority of his life in Smyrna, DE, where he and Beth raised their four children: Stacy Deakyne (David Jr.) of Smyrna, DE; John Birney Jr. (Angela) of Smyrna, DE; Christopher Birney (Stephanie) of Milton, DE; and Timothy Birney of Hartly, DE. As time progressed John and Beth's family grew with grandchildren totaling eleven in all. In 2006, John and Beth sold their home in Smyrna, DE and moved to Hartly, DE. As the grandchildren aged, they also grew the family with five great-grandchildren. John and Beth adored their family from the oldest to the youngest and everyone in between, and John's post-retirement schedule offered him the chance to spend a lot more time with his family that he so dearly loved. We hope to honor him by continuing to show love for family and friends, and remaining involved in helping our community.

Visitation will be held 7-9PM Friday, January 17th, and 11AM to 12PM Saturday, January 18th, at Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home, 123 W. Commerce St., Smyrna, DE. Services will be held at 12PM Saturday, January 18th, immediately followed by burial at Odd Fellows Cemetery, Smyrna, DE.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX  75284-0692

https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/ways-to-give

or to the (Boy) Scouts of America, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX  75015

https://donations.scouting.org/#/national/give/appeals

To sign the online guestbook, please click the tab marked "Guestbook".

Arrangements are by Matthews Bryson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Smyrna.