John Esmond was born on January 1, 1965 in Waverly, New York; one of seven children to the late Kenneth S. and Frances (Carnwright) Hite. He attended Canton Area Schools and graduated with one of the best classes,1983. On September 5, 1987, John married his high school sweet heart, the former Tami, his “Rose”, Woodward. Together they shared 34 years together and raised three sons and a daughter. John was an extremely hard worker all throughout life. He was employed by various companies including; Mel and Jay Good (Goodview Farms), Cliff Good Construction, Goodwin Pump, NY Penn Veal, Empire Livestock, Woodward Bus Service, Stierly Farms, Hess Farm Equipment and most recently, Pelton Trucking.
A true outdoorsman, John enjoyed hunting, fishing, boating and snowmobiling. He could often be found at McDonald’s getting his favorite, their quarter pounder and fries. John was a farmer at heart and a gifted carpenter and mechanic. If ever called upon to help someone, John would drop everything and assist anyway possible. Most important was his family. His grandchildren were very special and PopPop genuinely loved spoiling them, especially at Christmas. He treasured life in a mischievous way and always kept you wondering just what was behind his rascally grin. Perhaps inherited, John was known to be somewhat opinionated and stubborn in a good way. Never afraid to speak his mind or mince words, he will be remembered for telling it like it was. He was truly one of a kind and will be dearly missed by those who had the opportunity to know him.
Surviving is; his beloved wife, Tami, children and their spouses; Brock (Robyn) Hite of Towanda, Jerikah (Neil) Gilliland of Troy, Jakob (Erin) Hite of Troy and Lukas (Ashley) Hite of Canton, siblings; Lloyd (Beverly) Hite, Kenneth (Erin) Hite, Nancy Grimm, Barb (David) Groover, grandchildren; Hudson Hite, Adelyn Holmes, Sawyer Holmes, Elliot Hite, Edison Hite and Emilyn Hite, special nephews; Tyler and Jesse Hite, Logan Rumsey, Cody Groover, TJ, Christopher and Matthew Delgrippo, grandmother in law, Marjorie Wright, father in law and mother in law; Thad and Sheila Woodward, close friends; Harvey Fitzwater, Rick Walter, John Kelley, Gary Walburn, Bill Landon and Gale Kelley as well as several great nieces, great nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors.
Besides his parents John was predeceased by a sister Leone Hite, a brother, Stanley Hite, grandfather in law, Robert Wright and a special niece, Nevaeh Rumsey.
Family will receive friends 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 21, 2021 and noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Pepper Funeral Home and Cremation Facility, 578 Springbrook Drive, Canton. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. at the funeral home with the Good Brothers officiating.
Burial will take place afterwards in the Glenwood Cemetery, Troy. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed in John’s name to the Stanley and John Hite Memorial Award, c/o Canton High School, 509 East Main St., Canton, PA 17724.
Memories and condolences may be shared with family by visiting, www.pepperfuneralhomes.com