John Trotta, 82, peacefully went home to be with the Lord on March 14, 2023, surrounded by his family at home just as he desired. John was born on June 1, 1940, in Paterson, NJ to John and Maria Trotta. He was their oldest child, followed by his siblings Angie, Francine, Peter and Tom. His childhood was enriched by a loving extended family who gathered regularly for Sunday dinners, picnics and holidays at the home of his grandparents Nicholas and Anna Bracigliano. Aunts, uncles and cousins shared great Italian meals, grandpa's homemade wine, love and laughter. John often reminisced about his fond memories of traveling with Aunt Jean and Uncle Harry on the carnival circuit at 16 years old. John met the love of his life June Mondelli when he was just 18. He saved his money and married her on August 13, 1960. They enjoyed a long, happy marriage for 62 years. Their first daughter Terry was born a year after they were wed and was followed by the birth of daughter Linda 20 months later. John decided to move his family out of Paterson and bought his first house in Haskell, where the family lived for seven years before moving to nearby Riverdale. 38 years later, he and June headed down to Whiting, residing there together for the last 13 years. As a devoted husband and father, John always made his family his first priority. He loved his girls, wanted the best for them and was always very protective. A few of the many ways he demonstrated his love to Terry and Linda were: by sending them to Catholic school, teaching them to swim, ride a bike, play the piano, fly his plane and buying their puppy Champ. He frequently hosted barbecues, birthday parties, holidays and beach days at Crestwood Lake. John's greatest ambition was to become a pilot, a goal he hoped to achieve when he joined the United States Air Force. Determined, John ultimately went on to get his private pilot's license as well as his commercial, twin engine, instructor and ATP licenses. He fulfilled his dream when he bought his own Cessna 172 which he kept at Lincoln Park Airport. John loved flying, being around airplanes and traveling. He worked at Eastern Airlines as a ground equipment mechanic and then as an airplane mechanic. With a fantastic employee discount, it wasn't long before John was taking his family on memorable vacations to Florida, California, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and Paris. John also had a "need for speed" and loved riding his Kawasaki motorcycle every chance he had. His brother, Tom, remembers John taking rides up to his house in Franklin, NJ every Saturday to see him and his family. Another favorite hobby of his was shooting at the Riverdale Gun Club where he achieved a perfect score of 300. John loved music and, like his dad, learned to play the accordion as well as the piano and organ. He and his brother-in-law Tom had a combo group and played a number of gigs together. Whether it was John practicing, teaching his kids the piano, or listening to big bands, his home was always filled with music. When John thought life couldn't get any better, along came his grandchildren whom he absolutely adored. Nicole, Katelyn, Brian, Jonathan and Michelle stole his heart. He invested in them by taking them to carnivals, Chuck E. Cheese, attending their birthday parties, making bullets, going shooting, for motorcycle rides, swimming in his pool and most recently traveling with them to Philadelphia via limousine to visit "Rocky". John was blessed to not only attend but dance at Jonathan & Tiffany's wedding followed by Katelyn & Bryan's. He thoroughly enjoyed every dance! John was very excited to hear about Nicole & Josh's wedding last May in North Carolina. He will be sadly missed at Brian & Jessica's wedding this October. One of John's greatest blessings was holding his first great-granddaughter Olivia Grace two years ago. He found great joy in watching her smile, play, toddle around and begin to talk.

Our sincerest appreciation to Terry for her sacrificial love as John's caregiver the past four years, son-in-law Dave for managing his financial affairs and son-in-law Steven for handling all the emergencies. John will be sadly missed by his family, but his legacy and many treasured memories will live on in our hearts forever.