John William Ingalls

John William Ingalls, 36, of Ivoryton, CT, with his closest family by his side, passed away on December 28th at Yale New Haven Hospital after succumbing to injuries sustained following a hit and run accident on Christmas Eve while out riding his bike. John was born November 9th, 1983 to Stephen and Maggie. As a fun loving child John enjoyed boating and swimming on the Connecticut River. He loved building with his Legos, playing soccer, going for long bike rides and dog sitting for the neighbors. John attended Old Saybrook Public Schools and was a member of the 2002 graduating class. He went on to attend The New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, RI where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Electronics. After college John worked a variety of jobs. He loved helping his customers at Blockbuster Video and delivering pizza. John dabbled in landscaping and practicing being his own mechanic. For the last 10+ years John was an independent contractor delivering The Hartford Courant to Killingworth and surrounding towns. Known to his friends as “Jingles”, John will be remembered most for his love of movies (watching them, complaining about them, buying way to many of them and sometimes ruining the ending of them for those of us that had not seen them yet), placing pizza in its own food group (there was a special place in his heart for Westbrook Pizza), living off of Pepperidge Farms Nantucket and Milano cookies for days at a time (shout out to whoever kept selling him cookies by the case load because he loved you), blowing leaves and tending to his “hill” in one of the slowest ways possible (that being his battery powered Milwaukee blower roaring in the dark navigated by a headlamp just to irritate the neighbors), chasing around after his “personal mechanic” because he needed him to fix his car and it could not wait, caring for “the dogs” and listening to podcasts about batteries and power tools during his daily visits with his friends. He built swing sets for kids who were not his (but he loved like they were), argued with you about anything nice you may have said about him and showed up at random places, with random things with little explanation but a lot of love. His smile was contagious, his humor an acquired taste and his hidden kindness like that of no other. John had decided to be an organ donor and in his passing he has been able to help others lead a healthier and more fulfilling life. John is survived by his father Stephen Ingalls (Lucy) of Ivoryton, his mother Maggie Carr Steendam (Sinco) of Old Saybrook, his stepbrothers Benjamin (Shelley) and Joshua Steendam and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He is predeceased by his stepbrother Matthew Steendam. John leaves behind his one true love Courtney (his 1998 Green Honda Civic with dreams of hitting a million miles even though the engine is still missing) and his many friends who loved him like family and accepted him for exactly who he was. John would never have the opportunity to truly understand the impact that he had on so many lives in the short time he spent here on Earth. Some may argue about whether the impact was positive or not, but for those that were closest to him it was obvious that he had a good and kind soul. May you continue to hear his obnoxious laughter on your toughest days, to work hard on your quick comebacks and to continue to keep John’s memory alive through random acts of kindness in the most awkward and “John like” ways. Visitation will be on Wednesday, January 1st from 5-7pm at Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home on 34 Main Street in Centerbrook, CT. A grave site service will be held on Thursday, January 2nd at 11am at the Centerbrook Cemetery on Westbrook Road, Centerbrook. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in John’s name to Eastgate Outreach Inc. eastgateoutreach.com or Bikes for Kids bikesforkidsct.org of Essex.