John M. Traynor, 84, an Oak Lawn resident who coached Little League baseball, worked for the Special Olympics and volunteered at veterans hospitals because he never forgot being in some of the toughest fights of World War II, died Saturday, March 11, at the University of Chicago Hospitals, after double-bypass surgery. He earned five Bronze Star medals in one year with the Army, helping coordinate anti-aircraft cover during D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and battles at Ardennes, Alsace and Elsendoren Crest. After the war, Mr. Traynor did electrical work for National Can Co. from 1950 to 1984. He was a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 49 and headed National Can’s chapter in the early and mid-1970s. But his greatest joy came from coaching and managing his sons’ baseball teams, bowling with the veterans’ group Amvets, and working with the Special Olympics. “He just thoroughly enjoyed working with children,” said his wife, Anne. In addition to his wife, Mr. Traynor is survived by a daughter, Paula Williams; three sons, John E., Patrick and Kevin; a brother, Peter; and five grandchildren. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the St. Louis de Montfort Church, 8800 S. Ridgeland Ave., Oak Lawn.
