John T. Mooney and Helen T. Quinn were both born in Bangor, Maine in 1929. They attended John Bapst High School graduating in 1947. John went on to the Maine Maritime Academy majoring in Engineering while also playing on the Varsity Baseball Team. Helen went to the University of Maine at Orono majoring in Physical Education. They both graduated in 1951. John then served on a merchant ship for a year and traveled throughout the world. Helen took a job as a high school Physical Education teacher; also teaching Spanish and Biology. When John returned from his year of service, they were married on June 30, 1952.  They settled in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania where John worked at U.S. Steel. For nine years they called Pennsylvania home, while raising three daughters and one son (Ann Marie, Ellen, Kathy and John Jr.). They then relocated to Groton, Connecticut where John took a job at General Dynamics Corporation as a Nuclear Engineer, where he worked for 28 years until he retired from that same position. They built a home in Mystic Connecticut and added three more sons to the family (Mike, Joe, and Peter.)

John and Helen always put their children's interests ahead of their own. They became involved in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, School activities and committees, Community activities and local sports. John served as PTO President at Northeast Elementary School and coached countless sports teams (football, basketball AND baseball). Helen was the logistical support person making things work behind-the-scenes and doing it incredibly well.

John and Helen were active and dedicated Catholics, joining St. Mary's Parish in Groton in 1962. They were charter members of the new parish and helped with the building committee that made it possible to purchase the Papal Pavilion Building from the New York World's Fair and moving it to Groton. They were true supporters of quality education and put each of their seven children through St. Bernard High School. For 20 straight years (1967-1987) there was at least one Mooney child attending St. Bernard's.

In later years, they finally took the opportunity to treat themselves to their first trip without children to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary, a Caribbean cruise.

John and Helen thoroughly enjoyed their grandchildren (16 of them to date). Their home and their pool were always open for their children and their grandchildren. Like many grandparents, they enjoyed watching their children try to duplicate the child-rearing skills that they had put to such good use.

John passed away suddenly on February 11, 1998. Helen passed away even more suddenly on August 4, 2003. The John T. and Helen T. Mooney Memorial Scholarship Fund was set up to honor their memory. The intention of the scholarship is to help a St. Bernard student who shares some of the same values and beliefs that they demonstrated throughout their lives. They believed in instilling in our youth a good academic background, solid Catholic beliefs, and the importance of being a well-rounded individual with other interests in sports, music, community service, and any other activities where betterment and growth are the goal.

It is our pleasure to assist St. Bernard students in our parents' memory.