John Oskar Ulbrich

1938 - 2018

It is with great sadness, we share the passing of John O. Ulbrich on Monday morning May 21st. John was born on January 16th, 1938 in a small German town. In 1949 as a result of the Cold War period, his town became part of socialist East Germany. John fled the east sector as a teenager and later returned to retrieve his beloved mother Erika. John and his mother eluded capture and were able to successfully settle with relatives in Hamburg. John borrowed 300 Deutsche Marks from an uncle and boarded a ship bound for New York and what a future it would become. Nothing was handed to John. He was like every other immigrant during that period. He soon found work packaging coffee beans and learned English along the way. As John's new life in America was quickly developing, his skills and motivation followed suite. John found employment with a car dealership in New Jersey as a salesman and he would soon become a manager and later a partner. Besides John's burgeoning new career he also had a marriage and son Marc in 1962 to compliment his new life. During a vacation trip to Fort Lauderdale in 1971, John discovered a small car dealership for sale. He contacted his partner and discussed whether they would be interested in purchasing it, but that interest did not come to fruition. John later took the chance and acquired his own car dealership, a small facility across from the entrance of the War Memorial Auditorium. Within three years, John had expanded his business and relocated just east on Sunrise Boulevard and was soon awarded the Jaguar franchise. Alpine Jaguar was born. John was blessed with a vision to create and design his dreams. In 1990, he sketched out and built his dream home on Fort Lauderdale beach. Later in 2003, he created his new state of the art Jaguar dealership in north Fort Lauderdale. The dealership grew to become the number one Jaguar dealership in the world due to his vision and selection for great employees. John possessed a lifelong passion for sailing and snow skiing. John excelled at both even becoming a ski instructor in Vail, Colorado for a few years. John was self taught and learned to sail in Germany as a boy. He exchanged working on small sailboats for periodic use of the same boats. He always had a passion for competition. John's skills as a competitive sailor blossomed when he arrived in the United States. He has been awarded countless trophies for regatta victories in classes such as the Flying Dutchman, Soling, Laser, Star, Etchells, Finn and Mercury. Along the way, John has been admired by his students and fellow competitors. John was a long time member of both the Lauderdale and Biscayne Bay Yacht Clubs. John has consistently and quietly supported many charitable organizations with his generosity both locally and internationally. His legacy will live on with his personal charitable trust. John is preceded in death by his son Marc and is survived by his daughter Nichole, grand children Ashley and Ryan and their mother Kimberly. The last six months of John's life were shared with his companion Sheila Valenti. They shared a very special bond and love for each other. His family and friends will surely miss him. John touched countless people throughout his life often putting others before himself. Rest in peace John, we will always love you and hold your memories near to our hearts. A celebration of John's life will be held at the Lauderdale Yacht Club on Thursday May 31st from 5pm – 8pm, Lauderdale Yacht Club, 1725 SE 12th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, 954-524-5500. www.fredhunters.com