John Nicholas Lonigro Jr.

John Nicholas LoNigro Jr. (88) from Tampa Florida passed on Tuesday February 21 after a long and stubborn battle with Alzheimer’s. He went a full nine and then took it into extra innings because life was always a ball game.

He grew up as “one of the boys from Ravenswood (Brooklyn), that you heard so much about,” and legend has it that mothers hid their daughters whenever they were about.

He wasn’t much for school, so he fibbed about his age, and headed off to Korea where he became a sharpshooter for his beloved Marines.

When he returned he played minor league baseball in the Dodger organization and then garnered a major league tryout at Yankee stadium for the New York Yankees.

He met his wife Ann at a dance where he disappeared behind a pole and then proposed by giving her a rolling pin because he couldn’t afford a ring. A tradition his children continued with their spouses.

He coached all of his son’s baseball teams from little league through high school, and then stayed on as an assistant coach at the high school even after they graduated.

In later years he became a food connoisseur, mostly out of necessity because of his wife’s lack of kitchen skills. He also loved to travel and especially loved cruising where he and his wife Ann literally traveled around the globe.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Ann. His two sons Joseph, David and their spouses Holly and Ellen. His four grandchildren; William, Jessica, Kolby and Troy, and his precious great grandchild Lucy.

A funeral mass for John will be held Thursday, March 2, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 12708 N Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL 33618. Following the funeral mass will be a military honors from 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 S. W. 102nd Ave, Bushnell, FL 33513.