John Balistreri

I’d like to thank you all so much for being here today to honor our beloved grandfather. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Jonathan and I am speaking on behalf of the entire family. This was written by his three daughters.

Our dad, named Giovanni at birth, was born on June 11, 1932, in Corleone, Sicily. Growing up in Aspra, a province of Palermo, many people knew him as Raphael. There were many obstacles to overcome growing up during World War II, but he didn’t let that define himself or his future.

Dad lived the American dream and exhibited character traits that enabled him to create a successful life in a new country. As a fearless risk taker, he boarded a ship at the age of 18 and came to America to join his family in San Diego. He became a student at San Diego College, began to learn English, and eventually became a naturalized American citizen.

Our dad met our mom through mutual family at various Italian events. They began dating and were soon married in 1956 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. He was lucky to marry the love of his life, and they were blessed to recently celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary.

He was excited to create a family of his own, and he delighted in the births of his three daughters, Jo Marie, Marianne, and Nina. He welcomed each of his sons-in-law into the family with open arms and was elated with the birth of nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. We will always remember the way his eyes would light up when we walked into the room. There was absolutely nothing in life that meant more to him than his family.

As a young man in Sicily, our dad made custom leather shoes which started his love for leather. He opened his own shoe repair shop where his lifelong love of craftsmanship began to grow. The store was called John’s Fifth Avenue and was established in Hillcrest in 1958. This shoe repair shop soon became a well-known travel store, and with the help of his son-in-law, Jon Cantwell, a second store opened in Fashion Valley in 1982. Additional stores soon followed, and under our father’s care, John’s Fifth Avenue became well known for its caring customer service throughout San Diego County. Our mom occasionally worked at the store and did the book keeping at home in order to be a stay-at-home mom. Through the years, his children, grandchildren, and other family had the opportunity to work in his stores. All they had to do was ask, and they had a job. They still treasure those memories today.

Dad loved traveling to luggage shows and being a member of ALDA, the American Luggage Dealers Association. He was proud to be on their board and was well-respected in the industry. Our parents developed many dear friendships through these years. All who knew him were charmed by his kind smile and sense of humor. As time marched on, our dad shared these sentiments for a magazine article, “I love this business but time is moving on. Whenever people tell me that they always wanted to do something but put it off, I say to them, “It’s later than you think. As for me, I did my traveling and now look forward each day to coming here and seeing my many happy customers.” Our dad was a self-made man in every sense of the word and a wonderful example for us! He retired from the business in 2011 at the age of 80, but its legacy still carries on.

Aside from work, he found many ways to enjoy life. We remember our parents stealing away for weekend trips to Vegas, and as time passed, they were fortunate enough to travel the world, with many friends, to places like Morocco, London, Spain, and many trips to Italy.

One of our dad’s greatest passions in life was golf. He golfed with friends, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. He was an avid member of both the Singing Hills Golf Club and the Italian American Golf Association. On his 90th birthday, our family took Singing Hills golf course by storm by all golfing together, including some that had never golfed before. With all the hoopla on the golf course that day, the course marshall turned a blind eye and allowed us to enjoy a slightly unorthodox game of golf. The last time he golfed, which was just a few weeks ago, he said,“ I feel like I am in heaven being out here again!”

In addition to golfing, my dad enjoyed time gardening. It was his pride and joy to keep his yard in tip-top shape. He was always determined to send us off with bags of avocados, and tomatoes, but he knew not to include the fava beans.

Knights of Columbus was a more recent endeavor. Within this faith-based group, he was able to build a brotherhood with fellow Catholics and was proud to serve alongside such admirable and compassionate men.

Our dad was a bright light in all of our lives. Without a doubt, everyone in this room would agree that to know him was to love him. He was an example of perseverance, generosity, and enduring love of family. Our family cannot begin to express how much he will be missed, but we do know that his legacy will live on in each of our lives and he will forever live in our hearts through treasured memories. How fortunate we all were to be loved and cherished by such a man.