John Christopher LaPenna

John was born in New Haven, Ct. to Loretta (Santillo) and Anthony LaPenna Jr. He is a graduate of Sheehan High School and attended Shepherd College in Shepardstown, WV. He worked in IT for over 30 years, mainly in the hospitality industry.

John is predeceased by his grandparents Loretta and Joseph Santillo and Anthony and Carmela LaPenna, his father Anthony LaPenna Jr. and his nephew Abdullah (Mark) “Jibbers” Jensen.

John is survived by his brothers Anthony, Jay, Matthew and his identical twin Christopher, sisters Lisa (Chris), Danielle (Billy) and Noel (Eric). He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, Anthony Notaro, Allie Notaro, Brendan (Talore) LaPenna, Cassidy LaPenna, Anthony Jensen, Daniel Jensen, Robert (Susie) Jensen, Connor O’Malley, Ryan O’Malley, Kaitlin O’Malley, Claudia Bickers and Oliver Mills.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, March 10 at 10 a.m. at Demaine Funeral Home, 10565 Main Street, Fairfax VA 22030. A second celebration of his life will take place Thursday, March 13 at Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 North Main St. Extension, Wallingford CT 06492.

John loved his family more than anything and would drop everything to be with them. He made sure he was at every important occasion for his nieces and nephews and would make a trip every year to Connecticut to spend time with his family for Christmas. He had many friends that he considered family, especially Carlos Abarca and he would often ask about everybody. He loved hockey (Go Caps) and football (Hail to the Redskins) and would travel to watch hockey games with his family and friends. He enjoyed traveling for work and was able to travel to every state in the country. He enjoyed learning about history and winding down with a good beer. He loved going to concerts with his brothers and friends and was a big fan of The Doors, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer and the Dave Matthews Band. He loved being a smart ass but also would take good natured ribbing at his expense.

His family would like to thank everyone at the Shar Cancer Institute that helped John with his battle with glioblastoma especially Dr. Adam Cohen and Dr. Daniel Kim and his family and friends that helped with his care or spent time with him.

We are also grateful to the staff at Capital Caring Health for everything they did for John and family while in hospice.