John D. Guastaferro

March 25, 1946 ~ February 16, 2015
John D. Guastaferro, 68, died Monday, February 16, 2015 at the Mary Immaculate Nursing Center in Lawrence.
Born in Danvers on March 25, 1946, he was the son of the late Joseph and Irene (Allen) Guastaferro. He was raised and educated in Danvers and was a 1964 graduate of Danvers High School. He was a longtime resident of both Lawrence and Danvers.
John owned and operated Shear Magic, a hair salon in Wilson Square, until the time of his retirement. He enjoyed boating and travel.
He leaves a daughter, Laura Bates and her husband Dean of North Andover, a sister, Carol Lord and her husband David of Danvers, two grandsons, Jackson and Colton, two nephews, Kenneth and Richard Lord, and a dear friend, Elaine Doucette of Andover.
His Funeral Service will be Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 at 11AM in C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers Square. Relatives and friends are invited. Visiting hours are Thursday from 4-7PM in in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472.
We are so sorry to hear of the passing of John. We met him about 30 years ago when he had his Bayliner at the Danversport Yacht Club. John then became my hairdresser and for many years, I would go to his salon on a Saturday and Laura, who was just a little girl, was always there. He was always so proud of her with her gymnastics and clearly was crazy about his sweet daugher. In 1993, we moved to Michigan and lost touch but both my husband and I remember John as a very open, welcoming and warm person. Our prayers are with his family at this difficult time.
John was a classmate (1964) of mine at DHS. I believe were first connected at the Danversport Elementary School. I will never forgot how he inspired me to achieve a higher academic standard for myself. It was in 7th grade homeroom in the old Richmond Junior High when the first quarter honor roll was announced by our homeroom teacher. Johnny, as I believe we called him, then, got high honors. While I was never a true intellect, I did make the honor roll, usually first honors, for the remainder of my junior and high school years. I will always remember the family barbershop “in the Square”. I truly feel sadness for his passing and your loss. He was a good guy.
Jeff Gosselin
I am very sorry to learn here of John’s death. He was my barber for 30 years from his time in Salem to his shop in Peabody. John and I were the same age. We checked in our lives about 4 times a year for that 30 years. My condolences to his daughter, and the rest of the Guastaferro family. He indeed was, as the man said above, a good guy.