John Bennett Stiborek, 53, of Southlake, Texas passed away on March 25th in Trophy Club, Texas. A native North Texan, John was born in Denton and lived most of his life in Southlake and surrounding communities. A graduate of Carroll High School, John then attended UNT while working full-time at American Airlines (AA). Pursuing his love of computers and technology, he transferred to Devry University to complete his B.S. degree and graduated Magna Cum Laude in Information Technology and later worked for several large corporations as an analyst in the IT industry.
Those who knew John understood that he could be quiet and reserved but those who knew him longest knew him to be happy, silly, funny and kind. During his 17+ years with American he was able to travel with his best friend on a whim to such places as Philadelphia just to eat a true Philly Steak sandwich, to Boston to have a bowl of authentic New England clam chowder or Milwaukee to drink a beer with his childhood best friend. His love of travel also led him to join a singles group, where he met Shari Herman, at a karaoke night and his debut of “I Ain’t Got Nobody/I’m Just a Gigolo” by David Lee Roth. Although his moves were not quite those of DLR, Shari fell for John instantly. They married and lived happily together for almost 25 years, traveling extensively they honeymooned in Italy, (he gave her Venice), shared their love of scuba diving in St. Lucia, Belize, the Keys and Mexico. But their best trip however, was their month long stay in 2005 in Moscow, Russia to adopt their beautiful and amazing 13-month old daughter, Izabella Ekaterina, now 17.
John had many interests throughout his lifetime including a love of geology and space which segued into his love of reading sci-fi and fantasy novels. At last count he had read over 1,700 books! His other interests included re-building computers, fixing laptops for friends and while renovating their homes installing high-speed everything! John enjoyed working with his hands and building useful items, like bookcases, a desk, a corn-hole game and almost any project with his Dad! When taking time to sit still he enjoyed listening to his favorite genre – 80’s pop music, and watching TV and movies. His favorites included Star Trek, the early Star Wars collection, The Martian, Heartland and When Harry Met Sally. Most recently he was excited about playing low stakes poker with friends and went on to invest in a poker table, chips and ‘fancy’ playing cards. John was an incredible Dad who loved sharing time with Izabella jumping on a trampoline, bike riding, swimming and playing video games. Also, very much a family man, he enjoyed hiking, rafting, canoeing, zip-lining at state and national parks, mapping out road trips to Disney World, building sand castles, and visiting places like Graceland, Gatorland, and the Brooklyn Museum; and family gatherings at his parents’ home for BBQs and holidays! John will long be remembered for his sweet smile, his hard work ethic, easy manner and dedication to family and friends!
One of John’s favorite quotes by a beloved author:
Your life is yours and yours alone. Rise up and live it! – Terry Goodkind
Love for him is shared with his wife Shari, his daughter, Izabella; parents, Ben and MaryJoe Stiborek; older brothers, Joseph (Joe) and Michael (Mike) Stiborek; nieces Lauren Vines, and April Stiborek and nephew, Lucas Stiborek and numerous close relatives and friends.
Please join as his life is celebrated, April 25, at 4:00 p.m. at J.E. Foust & Son, 523 South Main Street, Grapevine, Texas, 76051.
In lieu of flowers in honor of John, please consider donating in his name to the:
American Brain Tumor Association, https://www.abta.org/ways-to-donate/
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