John James Carrier

John “Johnnie” Carrier, 61, of North Adams, passed peacefully away after a long illness on April 3, 2020. A graduate of Lansingburg High School and the School of Life, he was the son of Earl “Bud” Carrier and Catherine “Cappy” Carrier of Lansingburg, NY. Johnnie truly loved life and all that it offered. He would make everyone he met feel at ease and leave them with a laugh. He was a renaissance man in the truest form. He was a graduate of Barnum-Bailey- Ringling Brother Clown College and joined Circus Vargus on the West Coast. After moving back East, he joined the Improv group and attended Boston College. He became a disc jockey first working in Bennington then joined WNMB in North Adams. While there he became “Santa Claus” every Christmas Eve on the air trying to grant every child’s wish for over 25 years. During this time, he taught himself to play the guitar and wrote songs, many he would play over the years at different venues in the area. John worked at Johnson School as an assistant teacher, hoping to make an impact on the students there. He also worked at Bfair as a job coach to try to better the lives of the disabled. He enjoyed writing a weekly column in the Transcript sharing his exploits and his life with his family. Lastly, he was employed as a salesman at Racing Junk in North Adams where he enjoyed the travel and connecting with people all over the country. Not without his demons, he loved to make people laugh. He loved music and was always the first one on the dance floor. John would fish for hours, bet on horses and wrote columns for horse racing nation. He loved building model trains and would be assisted by Richard Haskins; he looked forward to playing golf each year at Stamford Golf Course. He loved his Mets and Giants, much to the torture of Nick Moulton. John leaves behind his two loves, his wife, Dawn Luskin-Carrier and son David, his proudest accomplishment. He leaves his sisters, Earlene Topper of Troy and Marianne (Joe) MacCaffrey, nieces Jenna (Sean) Hanratty and their daughter, Grace; Beth Topper and nephew Conor MacCaffrey. He is going to be missed by his brothers and sisters in law and especially Kim Micklas; many nieces, nephews, cousins and all their children who gave him great joy. He leaves behind his good friend Matthew Volks and all the friends who meant so much to him. He thanks you for your friendship over the years. He is predeceased by his brother, Harold. FUNERAL NOTICE: At the request of the family, a celebration of his life will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to the North Adams Food Bank in care of the Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Home CENTRAL CHAPEL 74 Marshall St. North Adams, MA 01247. To add to the book of memories please visit www.flynndagnolifunerahomes.com