John Thomas Messina Sr.

Third of five children born in Bridgeport, CT to Thomas John and Elizabeth Rita (Oleynik) Messina.

John had a long history of various education opportunities.

Newtown High School Sandy Hook, CT

1955-1959

University of New Haven New Haven, CT

1990-1998, degrees in Business management and Horticulture with minor in Biology.

Military Service: USMC, Aug 1960-Aug 1964 with rank of Corporal

He really was a jack of all trades.

He was self-employed after the Marines and had a great entrepreneurial spirit. He was an auto salesman, owned his own car leasing business, Real Estate agent, Painter, Handyman, Landscaper, owned a farm in Page, AZ where he grew many types of food, raised animals, had chickens and sold the eggs. He had a farm market near the entrance to the Grand Canyon, Az. He then retired to Florida.

John’s many hobbies included

Cooking, especially Italian from family recipes. He made all his recipes from scratch, and his specialty was Italian pasta sauce for which he won first place in a pasta sauce cooking contest in Flagstaff, AZ in 2007 sponsored by the Italian American Club.

John loved country music and dancing the two step. John and Karen loved dancing at various places in citrus county such as the VFW, Elks, Citrus Hills Country Club and Tiki Bar and the local dance club. He taught ball room dancing at various venues over the years. He was an excellent dancer.

Gardening was a passion, and he planted a vegetable garden every year. He loved landscaping and planted many fruit trees on his property in Canterbury. He was the Groundskeeper supervisor for Canterbury Lakes Estates, Hernando, Florida, the community he lived in for the last four years.

After moving to Canterbury Lakes Estates, he met and married Karen Fink on August 27, 2022, at the Plantation Inn and Resort in Crystal River. Pastor Darrell Reneau, of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Inverness, Florida, officiated at their wedding held at the Plantation Resort. Both John and Karen are members of Cornerstone Baptist Church. They enjoyed a one-month honeymoon driving up the East Coast which included a visit to Karen’s sister Debbie and husband Jim (retired USMC) near Albany NY, John’s younger Brother Thomas in Danbury, CT and John’s niece Victoria and her husband Eric in Maine. They then traveled to Niagara Falls, NY finally ending back in Florida.

John had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. He loved to entertain and hosted many dinner parties at their home. While dating, John had shared that his maternal grandmother’s last name was Valentine. He had inherited a garden statue of Aquarius which he had displayed in his garden. He was convinced it was divine intervention that we were destined to be together since I am an Aquarius! Since Karen’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day, John insisted on hosting a birthday party for Karen at the community clubhouse complete with an entertainer and a 2’x3’ birthday cake! That was John always going the extra mile!

Survived by: His loving wife, Karen, his son JT Messina of CO, 2 siblings, Patricia Messina of Mesa, AZ and Thomas John Messina of Danbury, CT and numerous nieces and nephews.

Predeceased by: His maternal grandparents: John and Mary Valentine of Stratford, CT; His paternal grandparents, Giovanni and Fortuna Messina (Oligino) of Naples, Italy, his parents, Thomas John and Elizabeth Rita (Oleynik) Messina and his sisters, Elizabeth Grosser Messina and Lisa J. Rea, all originally of Bridgeport, CT.

Funeral arrangements by Fero Funeral Home, Beverly Hills, Florida. A military service is being planned for the future in a National Cemetery with full military honors and military Honor Guard.

Donations may be given to Wounded Warrior Project or your favorite charity in lieu of flowers.