John Lima

1925 - 2016

John Lima John Lima, a long time resident of Lakeport and Hidden Valley Lake, passed away on November 24, 2015, in Yuma Arizona. Born in 1925 in New Bedford Massachusetts, he was the first person in his family born here in the United States. His parents and siblings were from the Azores and they all came here for a chance at a better life. The family moved to Santa Clara, California, when he was a young child, and it was where he stayed until enlisting in the Army at the age of 18 to fight in WWII. He survived the Battle of the Bulge and was one of the first GIs to cross the bridge at Remagen, he was wounded several times. After returning at the end of the war he met and married Teri, the love of his life. They settled in and raised three sons in the Bay Area. After the boys grew up John and Teri thought it was time for a change. So in 1975 John quit his job as manager of a retail store, and Teri quit her position as an executive secretary at Santa Clara University. They decided to move to Lakeport to seek a more relaxed rural lifestyle and some business oppor-tunities. After arriving in Lakeport they found a few acres with an old duplex on it and set about building a boat and dry storage facility on it. Lakeshore Boat and Dry Storage is still there today. They had never been involved in any construction before, and this was a big challenge for them. Then they bought the lot across the street from the facility to build a nice house on the lake for themselves. They spent many happy years in Lakeport, making many friends. John was very involved in the Lakeport Lions, even serving a term as president. They eventually decided to sell the storage facility so that they could travel the country in their motor home for a few years. Later they decided to sell the lakefront house, and move to Hidden Valley Lake as they were both avid golfers. They were both very involved in the golfing community for many years. In 2005 Teri, being a long time smoker, died of lung cancer and it was devastating for John. They had been together for over 56 years. In 2006 John decided to move to Yuma Arizona where he and Teri had spent many winters. While he was there he met a widow named Dorothy and they struck up a romance. They later got married and were together until she passed away of COPD in August of 2015. Dorothy was also a long time smoker and losing two wives to the ravages of smoking was extremely painful for John. John was recovering from losing Dorothy when he started having serious issues with congestive heart failure to which he finally succumbed at 90 years old. John and Teri leave three sons, Steve of La Selva Beach, California, Mark of New Jersey and Brad of Lakeport. They also leave six grandchildren and many friends. John will be interred at Hartley Cemetery next to Teri in a private ceremony. Back to Lake County where they spent some of the happiest years of their lives. Please share your memories by signing the guest book at www.legacy.com.