Wow, a Boston legend has passed away! I remember watching John in the mid to late 1980's on WBZ's Eyewitness News at Noon. IIRC, it was John Henning and Pam Moore at the desk in those days.
Honestly, I thought John was much older. He definitely had the white hair thing going relatively early in life. In the mid-80's, he would have only been in his late forties. Given his hair and his general "older" demeanor, I thought he was about 60 at that time. Are we sure that the article has his age correct???