John R. Marine

John was born in Detroit on October 28, 1937 to John & Eva Marine and was the middle child of two brothers: older brother, Joe, and younger brother, Chuck. He graduated from Servite High School in 1957 and was a decorated track and field athlete and football player. On February 7, 1959, he married his first love, Maria Guerra, and together they raised three children.

John built a long and successful career in retail management and, during part of his career, owned several small businesses. He was a firm believer in hard work and always stepped up to support his family but it was in retirement that John truly flourished. He devoted himself to causes and crafts that brought him fulfillment and purpose. A long-time volunteer for the American Red Cross, John became a commercial driver in retirement and in turn used his time and skills to transport lifesaving blood donations around metro Detroit. He was also a dedicated blood donor himself, happy to donate his rare blood type as much as he could to help others. He had a collection of pins recognizing the many gallons of blood he generously donated.

A self-taught wood turner, John meticulously crafted wood into bowls, pens, pepper grinders, bird houses and many other creative items. He sold many of his handmade items at local craft shows to raise money for the Warren Mott Marching Band. He also took equal joy in gifting them to friends and family. This is something many of them looked forward to receiving at the holidays and special events, not only because of the beautiful craftsmanship with which he made them but also recognizing the time he invested in crafting them.

Some of John & Maria’s favorite memories were of vacations to visit their extended family members. They traveled to Reno and Lake Tahoe in Nevada to visit his cousins, Don and Sue Rea. This also included several trips to Ohio to spend time with Maria’s sister, Adrian Cantelli, and her family.

John was a beloved husband of Maria for 66 years and is survived by his children John, Theresa (Carlos), and Laura (Jim). He was a devoted Papa to his four grandchildren, Alex, Abby, Sam, and Leah. John will be deeply missed by all who survive him.

A visitation for John will be held Tuesday, July 15, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 32000 Schoenherr Rd, Warren, Michigan 48088.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be sent in his name to Patient Access Network, aka the PAN Foundation. For years, the PAN Foundation provided John with generous grant money which enabled him to get vital but highly costly medication for his chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We believe it added many years to his life. Our family is forever grateful for all of the financial support they provided and would like to be able to give back to allow the PAN Foundation to support others in need.

https://www.panfoundation.org/pay-tribute-to-a-loved-one/