John Henry Meseroll, II

Our dad, retired U.S. Air Force, MSGT John Henry Meseroll II of Poquoson Va., left for his last great adventure on September 7, 2020.  Born on October 21, 1946 in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, our dad was a 1964 graduate of Huntington High School, Huntington N.Y.  He is preceded in death by his parents Melvin and Eleanor Meseroll and brother Thomas Meseroll.  

He leaves behind to raise a toast to his memory his daughter, Laurie Meseroll Bolt of Hampton, Va. (Brian-Samuel and Joshua), his daughter, Shannon Christensen Rose of Londonderry, N.H. (Mike-Mitchell, Taylor and Allison), son John H. Meseroll III of Yorktown, Va. (Briana-Jaden and Joshua), and daughter, Heather “Bean” Christensen of Poquoson, Va. He also leaves behind his beloved sisters Melissa Alessio of Huntington N.Y. and Pamela Meseroll of Toledo, Ohio and brother in law and best friend Robert Alessio, niece Sherilyn and nephews Robert Jr., and Jeffrey, and nephew Thomas Meseroll of Tampa, Florida.

Our dad served his country for 22-years in the United States Air Force including a tour in Vietnam in 1966-67.  After retirement from the military, he joined the Civil Service and continued his work at the 480th ISRW based at Langley AFB in Hampton Va.  Through his long tenure at the 480th he gained the friendship of countless people from the organization. He placed an enormous value on those friendships that continued well past his second retirement.  Our dad was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, tennis player, bowler, jogger and was a lifelong learner of the art of woodworking and carpentry, having crafted everything from custom furniture to working spinning wheels from scratch.  However, what he loved most were his grandchildren Mitchell, Samuel, Taylor, Allison, Joshua B., Jaden and Joshua C. who could do no wrong in his eyes.  Affectionately known as “Pop-Pop” or “Sags” short for “the sagasaurus”, a name coined by his grandchildren due to a bit of drooping skin as he aged.  “PopPop” or “Sags” was on the receiving end of many jokes and pranks played on him by his grandkids. He was adored by them as a larger than life figure.

After his final retirement, he promoted himself to “Director of Retirement Operations” and, henceforth, you could find him exploring the ruins of Machu Pichu, walking through the Bolivian rainforests, riding camels in Morocco, sipping wine while sailing down the Rhine River, tanning on the beaches of Aruba, enjoying a little rum in Puerto Rico, snorkeling in Belize or downing a pint in Ireland.  He was spotted staring up at the Grand Tetons, watching the exploding geyser of Old Faithful and stood on the precipice of the Grand Canyon and described it as a “really, really big ditch.” The cafes of Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Vienna, Budapest, Munich and a whole myriad of other places, too countless to name, were no stranger to him.

The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation and thanks for all the care and comfort provided to him by the Riverside Regional Medical Center Oncology team.  Thank you, Dr. K., and nurses Brittany, Lavon, Dana, Meredith, Gabby, Kimberly, Amy, Christina and so many others that not only supported and cared for our dad, but us as well.

According to his wishes, our dad will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, date to be determined.   The three of us would like to thank all the family and friends for the love and support you gave our dad and us during this time. A celebration of life is being planned.  Love Shannon, Laurie and John.