John C. Telesco

Obituary of John C. Telesco

John Charles Telesco of Rockville, MD died peacefully on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at his residence in Rockville, MD. Prior to moving to Rockville in 1997, John had been a resident of Katonah, NY, where he raised his family, since around 1972.

John was born on June 20, 1943 in Port Chester, NY to William and Frances Telesco. His father, William, sadly died when John was in his early teens and his mother Frances died many years later in 2011. John is the oldest of three siblings, including his sister Mari Castrovilla and his brother Carl Telesco, and is also survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Dorothy Lorden Telesco.

John grew up in Port Chester, NY and attended Archbishop Stepinac High School. He then went on to advance his education, while also working to help support his single mother and younger siblings, and his own growing family with his wife Dorothy, by attending The Cooper Union, where he earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, and the University of Connecticut, where he earned a Masters of Business Administration. His business career was focused in the telecommunications industry, where he held various managerial roles leading up to his retirement as an executive at NYNEX in the latter part of the 1990s, right around the time that NYNEX was acquired by Bell Atlantic in 1997.

During his working days, and despite being a young father with considerable responsibilities, John found time to volunteer for such organizations as Junior Achievement, where he was able to help young men and women find their way at the start of their careers. His desire to do this was rooted in his deep appreciation for those who had similarly helped him overcome the challenges that he had faced as a young man that wanted to learn and grow but had limited resources and support to do so. Somewhat ironically, another challenge of John's life, the need for an aortic heart valve transplant when he was around 40, led to his passion for long distance biking, a passion that he pursued with great vigor for many years during his working days, and even more so after it, as a relatively young retiree. His passion for biking extended to his role as an expert salesperson in a local bike shop during his retirement, where he seemed to truly enjoy sharing his passion for biking (and properly maintaining bikes!) with customers of all ages. John also volunteered for many years at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and was a docent at The Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Despite the challenges that he faced in his life, John always persevered and loved the life that God gave him (in the quiet way that it made sense to him to love it).

John was a loving son to his mother Frances throughout her entire life, a caring big brother to his younger siblings Mari and Carl, and a devoted husband to his wife Dorothy until his dying day. He was also a loving and caring father to his two children, William Telesco (Cristina) of Mount Kisco, NY and Kathryn Gower (Patrick) of Rockville, MD, a devoted grandfather to his five grandchildren, Sean, Tricia, Danny, Max and Luke, and a devoted great grandfather to his two great grandchildren, Rafael and Dylan.

John will be sorely missed by those that knew and loved him. He is and forever will be in our thoughts and prayers, and we hope that he is at peace now and knows how much he was loved and how much he meant to each and every one of us.

The Mass of Christian Burial for John will be celebrated at the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel at Gate Of Heaven Cemetery, 10 West Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY, on Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery.