Born in New York City in 1938, John moved with his family at an early age to Melbourne, Florida, where he graduated from high school in 1956. He served as a radioman in the U.S. Navy monitoring Soviet Union submarine communications from the Bahamas, then worked as a civilian instrumentation specialist for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), tracking rocket and guided missile launches downrange from Cape Canaveral. While with RCA he had the opportunity to monitor communications from America’s first manned space flight by Astronaut Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961.
John returned to Florida and began a 30-year career in banking and finance, including 17 years with Ford Motor Credit Company and over 10 years at Sunshine State Credit Union, where he served as vice president for lending services before his retirement in 2000. During his professional career he earned a reputation for honesty, fairness, hard work and integrity.
A talented musician, he played clarinet in his high school band and later performed on clarinet and alto saxophone with groups ranging from small ensembles to big bands. In 1974 he was instrumental in forming Mad Mullet Tom and the Dixie Flyers, a popular six-piece band that played a variety of music in the Tallahassee area during the 70s and 80s.
John enjoyed fishing along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico, making frequent boating and fishing excursions to the Ten Thousand Islands region of southwest Florida. During the 1980s he developed a love for the game of golf and became a regular player at Tallahassee area courses. A college football fan, he rooted for both the Florida State Seminoles and the Florida Gators. He was also a student of Florida history and a vintage railroad aficionado.
John was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tallahassee and considered the most important touchstones in his life to be his faith in his savior, Jesus Christ, and the love of his family.
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