Taylor — A pastor is the shepherd for his flock, but Fr. John Canavan was more than a shepherd. He was also the parish gardener, groundskeeper, handyman and occasional golfing buddy.

Fr. Canavan served for 27 years as pastor of St. Constance Parish in Taylor, which boasts 12 acres of green space local parishioners said he loved to maintain.

“He was just a very down-to-earth person,” said John Phillips, a parishioner for 34 years at St. Constance. “He loved the parish so much; you could see him out there on his Ferguson tractor, mowing the lawn because he didn’t want to pay someone else to do it.”

Fr. Canavan, who retired in 1997, died Jan. 19 at the age of 89.

Fr. Canavan arrived at St. Constance in 1970 as the parish’s second-ever pastor. Upon his arrival, Fr. Canavan did everything to keep costs down and beautify the parish grounds, parishioners said, not being afraid to “get down in the dirt.”

“He took care of his parishioners,” Phillips said. “He was very watchful over the parish finances. In 1985, they did a renovation of the church. He had an outdoor garden that was going to be covered up as part of the renovation. So he dug up all the live plants and put them in pot and decorated the new addition with them — he didn’t want anything to go to waste.”

Phillips said Fr. Canavan’s legacy can still be seen today with all the trees and plants that decorate the parish grounds, most of which were planted by Fr. Canavan himself.

“The parish got him a John Deere tractor to use,” Phillips said. “He just loved working on the grounds, planting trees and shrubs, and the people just loved him for all the work he did for the parish. During the winter, people drove by and saw him on his tractor with a plow on it, shoveling the parking lot.”

Fr. Canavan was born Dec. 21, 1926, in Dearborn to Irish immigrants. His family background is unique in that his parents hailed from Northern Ireland, where his mother was Catholic and his father was a Protestant.

Fr. Canavan served with the paratroopers in World War II, and on June 4, 1955, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit after attending Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township.

He served as associate pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Monroe (1955-56), St. Joseph Parish in Erie (1956-58), St. Lawrence Parish in Utica (1958-63), St. Cyril of Jerusalem Parish in Taylor (1963-67), and St. Basil the Great Parish in Eastpointe (1967-70) before becoming the pastor of St. Constance in 1970.

“His homilies were very good, always had a touch to the heart,” Phillips said. “Being the son of immigrants, he had a great love for the Hispanic immigrants in the community and Our Lady of Guadalupe. He played the guitar and was a wonderful singer.

“Most of all, he loved being outside, playing golf with his buddies and doing work around the grounds by himself. The thing I’ll miss most about him is his conversations about everyday life. In everything he did, you could tell he had great love for his parish, his people.”

Fr. Canavan is preceded in death by his parents, David and Ellen Canavan, and is survived by his brother, Mark Canavan. A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 23 at St. Constance Parish. Burial is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield.