John Cometa was born in Taranto Italy in 1929. He came from a modest family who were farmers. Their main crop was figs which they would dry and send to market from Pulsano to Taranto.
John immigrated to the U.S. in the mid 50s to Newport Rhode Island. His brother, Angelo, had settled in this area earlier.
The cold weather was not what John was accustomed to so he moved to sunny San Diego in 1957. While taking an English class at San Diego High School he met his love and future wife, Miranda, who had immigrated from Italy herself a few years earlier. A year later they were married and 2 years after Richard was born. James was born 3 years later. They settled in North Park where they raised their children and prospered.
John worked for the California state park system for 24 years and Miranda was a
Housewife. Miranda passed away in 2015. They were married for 58 years.