John Jutras Sr.

John “Skip” Paul Jutras, Sr., 76, a successful business owner and former crew chief, known also as an icon and a legend to many in the racing and automotive communities, passed away Friday, June 14, 2019.

John was born to the late Bruno and Rosa Jutras of Hampton, February 12, 1943, in Hartford, CT, he was also preceded in rest by his brother, Jerry Jutras of Yorktown and sister, Brenda Felmeten of Hampton. He is survived by his wife, Janet Jutras, and parents, Juan and Maria Traverso of Newport News; three sons, John Jutras, Jr. of Gloucester, Joseph Jutras of Newport News and Juan Torres of Hampton; two sisters, Mary Stroeher of Evergreen, CO, Carol Wade of Chesapeake; one brother, William Jutras of Silver Spring, MD.; six grandchildren, E. Angel (Jutras) Chapman of Norfolk, John Jutras, III and Jason Jutras both of Gloucester, Adrian, Julian and Juan Ramon Torres of Hampton, and two great-grandchildren, Galvin Fitzgerald and Teagan Chapman both of Norfolk.

John was a resident of Hampton and Newport News for over 70 years, where he became a well-known, loved and respected man. Before graduating from Hampton High School in 1961, he worked at the Colonial Store bagging groceries and then after went to work at the Newport News Shipyard. In 1963, he saw that his buddies were having more fun working on cars, so he left the shipyard to work at Kashouty Volkswagen. There he helped and started to learn about the industry that became his life work, until 1965 when he left to work at Casey. In 1970, John found that he didn’t want to work for somebody else, which led him to partner with the late Al Linthicum. They came together as Al & Skip’s Auto Repair off Warwick Blvd., performing mechanical repairs on Volkswagens. In 1977 they moved to Jefferson Ave., where they stayed as Al & Skip’s until 1982 when it became Skip’s Body Shop and Al’s Auto Repair. A year later in 1983, it became Skip’s Body Shop, where he continued to provide valuable services for another 35 years with his sons by his side. If you were a third generation coming in, it made his day to let you know that he worked on your granddaddy’s vehicles, then your daddy’s and now yours.

John’s life was anything but boring; it wasn’t often that you were around him and he wasn’t sharing a memory. Whether he was telling stories about going out in his Criscraft to ski with the late Ted Yarborough and John “Buster” Horne, slapping brake pads together at Casey until there were clouds so thick he couldn’t see a person standing three feet from him, or showing how strong he was by picking up engines and then admitting that his Granny Ellis was right, his back did pay for it later. John’s enthusiasm would draw you in and make you feel like you were there with him at the time.

There wasn’t a week that went by that a story wasn’t being shared about his times racing with Lester Gupton, Dickie Smith, Captain George, Sid Carmines, Randy Hutchinson, Joe Diffenderfer, Billy Smith, Joe Nicosia, and many others. While crossing the finish line first was always nice, it wasn’t all about the win for John. He cherished the time together building cars, traveling, the pranks, the brawls, even eating fried chicken with a side of gravel, because he was in the company of those he saw as family.

John lived to do for others; he enjoyed making others happy and only hoped to be appreciated in return. If John knew your favorite snack, you could guarantee that it would be sitting on his bar the next time you visited. Even something as simple as explaining how to change a tire brought happiness to him. John’s love of giving wasn’t limited to people; his passion for animals was like no other. There wasn’t an animal in need that John didn’t try to help, or that came near him that didn’t receive a head scratch or a belly rub. It didn’t matter if it was a squirrel named Rocky, a stray kitten with a broken hip, or a family of raccoons; he cared about them all. He never treated his pets as just pets; he treated them no different than he would family, and when one would pass, he grieved just as we grieve for him now. His unparalleled personality helped shape everyone around him, and while John may no longer physically be with us, there is no doubt that his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all who had the pleasure to know him.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home Saturday, June 29th at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations please be made to a charity of your choice in his name.