John Martin Bocchicchio

John Martin Bocchicchio was born on October 16th 1949 in Mineola, New York. His parents were Ennios John Bocchicchio and Agnes Martin Bocchicchio. John enjoyed a happy childhood living on Long Island New York. They spent time visiting parks playing with the dogs and sharing time with family. When John got his driver's license his Dad took him down to buy the car of his choice. He actually got 4 cars within one year. The first car was a Pontiac Catalina, green and white 2 door. That car wasn't high performance enough for John. Then they traded right up for a 67' Chevy Fury. That one also proved not to have enough high performance so they upgraded to a Ford Torino. Still wanting more high performance they went down one final time to get the car of his dreams. John's father bought him the Ford Cobra Jet 428 Horsepower red with white stripes on the side. It was so fast. He loved it!

John graduated from Wantagh High School in New York and continued his education at Rollins College in Winter Park Florida. John moved down to Florida with his wife Diane to begin his 30 year career with the United States Postal Service. They settled in Winter Park Florida and began a family of their own. Heather Bocchicchio was born in 1971 and Bevin Bocchicchio was born in 1976.

John loved his girls more than anything. He took pride in watching them grow up into lovely young ladies over the years. They enjoyed many fun days spent at the beach or swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house. John liked to plan fun weekends with his girls. They would go shelling at Cocoa beach, body surfing the waves until their backs were burned and then out for Carvel soft serve ice cream after a fun day. He also enjoyed taking them bowling, to Fun and Wheels or Malibu Grand Prix to ride the go carts on the fast track and play games. He was the skee ball champ! He took them to art festivals, car shows, Medieval times, Circus World and Boardwalk and Baseball among many other places. A weekend spent at Treasure Island was one of many. John spent many hours teaching and coaching his girls. Practice time with Dad was spent on the mound pitching, hitting and catching with Dad always encouraging them to choke up on the bat for a better swing. He taught his girls to play bocce ball which is a Bocchicchio Italian family tradition. He always encouraged his girls to follow their dreams and do their best, to treat others kindly and always be yourself.

John's years with the Postal Service were spent moving up in the ranks until he became the head passport clerk at the Tradeport Office in Orlando. "I was always a systems man" as John said. He worked to aid people in their travels quickly and efficiently and often ensured positive changes were made to help the common man and his fellow coworker.

John enjoyed cars, antiques, vacation and travel with his girls. In the late 80's John purchased his first timeshare and helped his girls get their first passports. That summer they traveled to Saint Martin. That was one of many trips abroad which also included Barbados, Aruba, Mexico, Tenerife, Margarita, Venezuela, Spain, and finally Costa Rica. He took his daughters to the Rock of Gibraltar and Alhambra Palace among many other amazing places. He loved them all but Costa Rica held a special place in John's heart. The people, the culture, the wildlife, the rainforests and beaches were all so different and unique which John adored. Many trips were made to Costa Rica to discover more of the treasures it beheld. Daily excursions to the beach for snorkelling or shelling and visiting local family restaurants was a favorite thing to do as John liked to get to know the real people everywhere he traveled. Visiting the rainforest was a whole new world and rafting down the the Class V Pacuare river rapids with his girls was a highlight of John's adventurous life, not to mention bathing in the hot springs straight off of volcano Arenal, while sipping frozen mint cocktails.

Years later John was happy to give his blessing to his daughter Heather and her hand in marriage to Matthew Gilliard. They began their own lovely family when they had Zoe, Jake, and Danny. John loved his grandkids more than the world and was a doting Grandpa.

Many years later John was again asked to give his blessing for Bevin's hand in marriage with Chad Thomas. He was an integral part in that beautiful day spent on the beach. When they began their family he welcomed the baby Violet Thomas into the world. He was lovingly known as Tampa Johnny.

John loved animals and his pets included dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, and hamsters. His four beloved birds Binks, Selene, Poppy and Tenwood will live on with his daughter Bevin and her family. He was happy to have his birds join their family and pet dog Peaches and Rainbow rabbit. He said, "We are going to have the menagerie of animals!"

If there is one thing to say about John, he truly was one of a kind. A great Dad, Grandpa, Tampa Johnny and a genuine friend. He loved nurturing his garden plants, finding treasures and unusual collectables. Appreciating art and creativity, travel and adventure, and getting to know people. He was the best John we will ever know. We love you!

70 years strong!

John Martin Bocchicchio

October 16th 1949 - June 29th 2020

As the ticos and ticas would say,

Pura Vida - Pure Life