John Convertino died peacefully on November 4, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. He was 92 years old.
A first generation Italian-American, captain of his high school varsity basketball team, veteran of WWII and the Merchant Marines, a 30-year management-level employee of IBM, and the ultimate family man — devoted son, brother, husband, father and grandfather — John lived a good life, and lived it fully.
He loved pancakes smothered in sugar-free maple syrup, golfing at Endwell Greens, his golf buddies, spiedies, The Giants (God knows why) Genny's beer, a good party (all parties are good), beautiful women (all women are beautiful), the Florida State Seminoles, Battlaglini bread, the Yankees (even after they stopped going over the Luxury Tax Threshold), Jim Beam, action movies and The Crown (season 1). Not necessarily in that order.
He hated green vegetables and hypocrites. Not necessarily in that order.
Vital, charming, fierce, loyal, generous and smart as hell, John was a force of nature. Those qualities were in service not just to ideas and principles, but to people. Nothing meant more to him than friends and family. And he held them close.
His sons want to thank him for instilling in them strength tempered with humility, the refusal to quit, kindness, and most of all, for showing them, by his devotion to their mother, his wife Anne-Marie … what love really looks like.
John lived long enough to suffer the loss of so many he cared for: his parents Ignazio and Josephine, his brother Joe, his wife of 66 years Anne Marie, his beloved son Johnny, and so many cherished friends. He never stopped feeling the pain of those losses, but he carried the pain as he carried the memory of those he loved with grace and dignity. Those who survive him will remember him always and miss him every day: his sons Michael and Bobby, daughters-in-law Patty and Liz, sisters-in-law Rose and Shirley, nieces and nephews, many friends and his three grandchildren, his future: Christopher, Bella, and Keifer.
Kindly share your reflections of John on his guestbook at Chopyak-Scheider.com