John L. Saunders

1951-2014

WATERVILLE - John L. Saunders of Waterville, died on May 1, 2014, of complications from multiple sclerosis. "Johnny," as he was known to many, was born Nov 27, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Dora Lambert Saunders and Arnold C Saunders III.

He spent his childhood in Cleveland and summers at the camp of his grandparents, Ruth and John Lambert, on Great Pond in Rome, Maine, where he developed a lasting love of the lakes and woods.

He graduated from University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where he swam competitively, and attended Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. He then moved to New Jersey in 1971.

He settled into the building supply industry and worked for several local businesses in Monmouth county before being forced into retirement by multiple sclerosis. He moved to Maine in 2010. Johnny loved sailing with his good friend, Mo Shaw, and played golf when he could, traveling to Myrtle Beach with his golf buddies. He was an avid water-skier, handyman, and was well-read, particularly in American history.

He was a keen observer of current events and popular culture, and despite living for most of his life on the Jersey shore he remained hopelessly faithful to his Cleveland sports teams. For that obsession, he earned the endless but affectionate ridicule of his New England relatives. He kept in close touch with a small circle of siblings, cousins and friends, including his former wife, Mary. He was irrepressibly and rightly proud of his daughter, Katie, and was smitten by his new granddaughter, Norah, whose first steps he watched while Skyping.

John is survived by his daughter, Katie S. Nesci, her husband, Michael, and their daughter, Norah, of Oceanport, N.J.; his ex-wife, Mary Potenziani, her husband, Ernie, and their daughter, Bella, of Tinton Falls, N.J.; his sister, Hillary S. Schultz, and her husband, Peter, of Rome, Maine; his brother Arnold Saunders IV, of Waterville, and his two sons, Brian and Matthew; his stepsiblings Jeannine, Stephen, and Colin Furrer and Diane Furrer Holzheimer; his uncle Frederick W. Weston Jr., of Rome, Maine, and his children, Martha Feldman, of East Greenwich, R.I., and Frederick W Weston III and his wife, Karen, of Waterbury, Vt.; his uncle Donald R. Saunders, and his wife, Betsy, of Cleveland, Ohio, and their children, Peter, Elizabeth and James; and other cousins, friends and devoted caretakers.

A memorial gathering for family and friends will take place at the family's convenience. At the request of the family, there will be no funeral or visitation hours.

Memorial gifts in John's name may be made to the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, P.O. Box 250, Belgrade Lakes, Maine; brca@belgradelakes.org.

Arrangements under the care and direction of Dan & Scott's Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan.