John Paul Stiglin

 

John (Jack) Paul Stiglin, 91, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2023, following a short stay at Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, FL.

Jack was born in 1932 to a growing family in Brooklyn, NY. The fourth of seven children, he was the son of Alice (Hughes), a devoted wife and mother, and John Stiglin, a New York City police officer. Jack was raised in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn where he lived with his parents, six siblings, and paternal grandparents.

Jack was an industrious, responsible youngster. One of his earliest memories was pulling a wagon at age eight to Bohack Super Market to retrieve his family’s weekly groceries. At age 10, he took on a paper route. And at 11, he found work at the local delicatessen, voluntarily giving a portion of his earnings to his mother to aid the family.

He attended Our Lady of Angels Grammar School, Fort Hamilton High School, and went on to The City College of New York until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in anticipation of being drafted for the Korean War.

At Scott Air Force Base, he earned additional college credits through their electronic training program. From there, he served as an electronic specialist, setting up air traffic control systems for the U.S. military. He traveled extensively while in the Air Force, completing his four-and-a-half-year tour with an honorable discharge as a Technical Sergeant.

Jack continued to pursue formal education with night classes at Queens College until he launched his engineering career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), then known as the Civil Aeronautics Authority. During this time, Jack married his first wife, Frances (McGowan), with whom he had four daughters.

Professionally, he spent the next 15 years focused on the installation of long-range radar and navigation systems at airports and in remote areas nationally, overseeing assorted crews who built the air traffic control system upon which today’s more-complex infrastructure rests.

As a member of the Senior Executive Service, Jack’s positions with the FAA included Chief of the Airway Facilities Division for the New England Region out of Burlington, MA, Chief of the Airway Facilities Division for the Southern Region out of Atlanta, GA, and Deputy Director out of New York. His leadership and professional competencies were exemplary, yet it was his personal qualities that contributed to his success and his philosophy on life.

Jack believed in the power of hard work and held those around him to high standards to fulfill their responsibilities and reach their potential. While his outward demeanor conveyed a degree of stoicism, those who knew him best understood that he cared for the well-being of others. Dedication, innovation, discipline, and tireless effort earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues and friends.

Jack retired from the FAA in 1986 after 31 years of service. His respite was brief, however, as he was recruited by NYMA Corporation, a Maryland upstart that provided engineering support services for government and private-sector contracts. He spent eight years with NYMA, helping to fuel the growth and eventual acquisition of the firm.

Though his first marriage ended in divorce, Jack was remarried in 1999 to Mary Beth (Moore) with whom he enjoyed a full and active life until her passing in 2022. Mary Beth and Jack spent the majority of their years together living in the bucolic golf community of Fairfield Glade, TN with annual winters on the east coast of Florida.

Both avid golfers and merrymakers, Mary Beth and Jack quickly gained a reputation in the Fairfield Glade community as a fun-loving couple with a penchant for parties and practical jokes. They enjoyed time golfing, gardening, hosting get-togethers with friends, and traveling.

At home, Jack was never idle. He could be found tinkering with assorted projects from electrical repairs for himself or his neighbors to laying new flooring in his much-loved garage. He was also an avid reader. From a young age, he had his nose in a book—most often historical non-fiction and World War II novels. In later years, he would matter-of-factly report that he was on his way back to the library, having finished ten books in two weeks.

A master storyteller, Jack will be remembered for the captivating tales he would tell (and retell) of his brothers’ antics growing up… of his ever-tolerant mother to whom he was devoted… of his cantankerous, pipe-smoking grandmother… and of his sisters with whom he was close. He enjoyed reminiscing, particularly with his children and grandchildren as his ever-captive audience.

Jack lived by a creed that there was always a way to make things better—realistic optimism, strengthened by a sense of humor. He held an innate value for family and providing for his loved ones, a trait he embodied from his earliest years. For all he accomplished, he carried success with humility and found joy in the simple pleasures of life.

Jack is survived by his four daughters, Laura Stiglin and her husband, Ralph Kimball; Tara DeNuccio; Dolores Stiglin-Eddy; Marta Stiglin and her husband, Ralph Martinez; his ten grandchildren Thomas and Ellen Kimball, Nicole, Kyle, Matthew, and Luke DeNuccio, Joy Mitchell and Matthew Eddy, Jared and Jade Martinez; his three great-grandchildren Ruby and Norah Mitchell, and Echo Carmichael-Kimball; and his sister-in-law Eileen Emery.

A funeral Mass will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Saint Matthew Catholic Church  in 6090 Hypoluxo Rd, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33463 followed by a private interment at South Florida National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the American Cancer Society in honor of John P. Stiglin.