John Ebel

John Edward Ebel died on Saturday, June 23, 2012, after a short illness and an extraordinary 91-year life. Born July 27, 1920 to German immigrant parents Adam and Adelaide Ebel, he grew up in New York City with three brothers and three sisters. John enlisted in the U.S. Navy when our nation was attacked in World War II. His ship survived numerous Kamikaze air attacks and was one of the lead vessels in a daring night raid into Tokyo Harbor when a Navy task force destroyed a Kamikaze airplane factory. When the war ended, John was honorably discharged and returned home to meet Doris Elizabeth Fuhrman and the two were married only a few months later. They had three children. John was a chauffeur, working for hotel and restaurant founder Howard Johnson for more than a decade in the 1960s. In 1973, John and Doris moved to Palm Beach County, where John worked at The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach. Three things kept John healthy: love of family and friends, walking and swimming. He spent each summer at Lake George, NY, with his children and grandchildren. On his 90th birthday, he swam a half-mile there. Following Doris’s death in 2001, John moved to Century Village in West Palm Beach, and stayed physically fit by walking and swimming almost daily, despite the use of a walker. He valued hard work and a job well done. He enjoyed driving and did so over hundreds of thousands of miles with his family throughout the United States. He did solo driving trips to New York into his 80s. He lived the last year of his life at the Noreen McKeen nursing home in West Palm Beach, where he touched many with his smile and laugh. John beamed with pride when he discussed his children and their success. He is survived by his daughter, Joan Migliardi (John), who is retired from American Airlines; and two sons, John Joseph Ebel (Nancy), an attorney in Easthampton, NY, and Peter Ebel (Kristin), a lieutenant with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. He is also survived by seven grandchildren – Liane Migliardi-Carlucci (Dominick), Robyn Migliardi-Trezza (Raymond), Jon Thomas Migliardi, Alexandra Rose Ebel, Krystal Brown, Victoria Ebel, Joseph Ebel and two great-grandchildren, Raymond Trezza and Mia Trezza. He will also be missed by his lifelong friends, the Giambrone family. A private family ceremony is planned. John will be re-united with his beloved Doris and their ashes scattered together in Lake George, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in John’s name be made to the Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence in West Palm Beach.