John Farina

"Poppy," as our family called him, JJ, that a lot of his friends called him, and of course "Hey, Farina!!" by close family relatives, lived a full Life. Poppy Passed away on June 23rd at 1:10 am at the age of 94. He fought Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease to the very end.
John Farina, Poppy, is survived by his wife, Mary, of 71 years and his two children, Angela, and Frank. He has 5 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, and he loved them all so much.
John was proud to have served in The U.S. Army, in which he enlisted in 1944, and he has his medals to prove it! After serving for 2 years, he enrolled in a vocational school to become a plumber, though he decided it wasn't for him. Instead, he found himself working at the Smiling Brothers Fruit and Vegetable Store in the Bronx, where and managed one of their stores.
Around this time, he met the love of his life, Mary LaSorsa, and became determined to find a more secure job. It was then that he began his career with the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). He joined the Sanitation Police and worked in New York City for the next 23 years. During his time with DSNY, he gained an interest in sales. He decided to leave and work at Dictograph, where he sold fire and burglar alarms. Later on, he was able to incorporate his hobbies into his career when he began selling cars, which he did for over a decade.
After he retired, John and Mary moved to Florida, and they began to travel the world. He was proud to start the first Bocce Ball Club in his community, where he served as the first President of the organization. I still have the Bocce Balls that were passed on to him from his father and then to me.
I could go on for several pages of stories about his life. I would sit with him, and he would tell me stories of growing up in Harlem, war stories, and all the other stories one can gain over the course of such a long life. As a kid. I didn't always know it then; these stories all had a lesson plan to teach me about love and life.
He is the last of the "Tough Guys" and we will miss him.