John Victor Cauduro

Born on May 10, 1929 in Warren, Ohio to immigrant parents August Cauduro and wife Emelia “Lena” (LaPorte), John grew up on the family farm in nearby Newton Falls, Ohio. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School with lifelong friends, and attended St. Bonaventure University graduating in 1951 with a finance degree.

Immediately after graduation he was drafted for service in the Korean War. Upon landing in Korea, he was assigned as a medic in E Company, 31st Regiment, 7th Division and was quickly dispatched to the combat zone. He earned a Bronze Star for his meritorious service and courage in heavy combat that “served as an inspiration to the fighting men, and his hasty application of first aid and efficient evacuation of the wounded that undoubtedly saved the lives of many men.” When writing a reflection on his time in Korea, he wrote that he didn’t think he would survive but did not run from the fight, and that he was no hero but simply did what his country called him to do.

The very day he returned from Korea to the family farm in Newton Falls he met his wife of 67 years Shirley Grodesky at the A&P Market. They began dating and he soon took his first job as an insurance adjuster without knowing what an insurance adjuster did, but the job offered a $250 monthly salary plus a company car and enabled he and Shirley to marry. He ultimately worked in the insurance industry for fifty years with various companies in Dallas, Cincinnati, San Antonio, and Hayward, CA. The insurance companies he worked for included: Ohio Casualty, Bellefont Group, American Druggist, ADP, Charter and Early American. After retiring in 1998, John’s volunteer work as a Eucharistic Minister at Plano Presbyterian Hospital led him to a final position in the hospital offices that he enjoyed immensely working with insurance-related operations, files and procedures.

John was a kind, family man of deep faith and a founding member of Plano Prince of Peace Catholic Church where he served as a Senior Acolyte, Eucharistic Minister and Coordinator. He enjoyed, and will long be remembered for, cooking large pots of spaghetti sauce with meatballs and braciole for family gatherings filled with love and laughter. He was known to make his own pasta and ravioli, and the Italian wedding soup and croutons he made for special family gatherings is legendary. His cooking skills extended beyond his Italian heritage, and everything he made from seafood gumbo to expertly deboned stuffed roast chicken to pork chili verde was the best you ever had, and his grandson once proclaimed even his simple scrambled eggs were the best ever made.

John is preceded in death by parents August and Lena and sister Edith. He is survived by sisters, Emma Kuckenbecker (Pompano Beach, FL.), Linda McMillan (Fort Collins, CO) and Angela Cauduro (Arlington, TX), his wife, Shirley (Plano, TX); daughter, Joan and husband Rick and grandsons, Eric and Ryan (Lake of the Ozarks, MO), son, Jim and wife Laurie (Plano, TX), son, John and wife Danielle and grandchildren, Anton and Valerie (Portland, OR), Paul and wife Michelle (Buda, TX) and grandchildren Evan and Aubrey, and August and wife Cynthia (Dallas, TX) and grandchildren, Sophia and Natalie Cauduro and Max and Lindsay Levy.

A funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, July 30 at 10:30am at the Plano Prince of Peace Catholic Church. He will be inurned in the church columbarium.

Family and friends are encouraged to post remembrances, and in lieu of flowers are asked to make a contribution to the Prince of Peace Catholic Church Building Fund or to the St. Vincent DePaul Society. The family extends its gratitude to Charlin Hospice workers, Brookdale Collins Oaks nursing home as well as John’s doctors and many nameless nurses for their tender care and support.