John T. DeBardeleben Jr.

Christian, Husband, Father, Leader, Friend

August 28, 1926 – August 27, 2016

A public viewing and reception will be held on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home, 1985 West Nine Mile Road in Pensacola. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 31 at 10:00 am at McIlwain Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1220 E. Blount Street, Pensacola, with interment following at Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens.

Born at Fort Benning, Georgia, the son of an Army Chaplain, John was educated at Vanderbilt University, where he studied psychology and chemistry, played football, and served as President of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. After graduation, he was recruited by New York Life Insurance Company as an Agent in 1951. He rose quickly through the ranks, managing sales offices across the southeast and fulfilling various roles at the company’s regional and national headquarters.

By the time of his retirement in 1989, he was Senior Executive Vice President at the home office in NYC and responsible for all group insurance – both life and health – in the US and around the world. Over the years, he received many honors from New York Life, including nine consecutive “Grand Slams,” and the first “Founder’s Award” from the Health Insurance Association of America, an annual award created specifically for him.

At the time of his death, John had seven children by birth and marriage, 13 grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. He is survived by his beloved wife Florence Barbara, his children Jack and Chuck DeBardeleben and Eve Roebuck, Rick Kaiser, Joanne Kaiser, Carole Leitgeb, and Linda Kaiser – all with their respective spouses and children.

John was a committed Christian, a member and Ruling Elder in various congregations of the Presbyterian Church in America, and a donor to evangelical causes in the US and around the world. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps. 116:15).

Arrangements have been entrusted to Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home.