John Gianni Obituary

WATERBURY 

John Gianni 

“Beloved brother, uncle, friend, stepdad, and grandfather” 

Mr. John Gianni, 66, passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Sunday, January 5, 2020 surrounded by family at the VITAS Inpatient Unit at St. Mary’s Hospital.  He was the widower of Linda ( Harris ) Gianni.

John was born in Waterbury on May 24, 1953, son of the late Thomas and Victoria (Cifaldi) Gianni Sr.  He was a graduate of Sacred Heart High School, and attended St. Michael’s College in Winooski, VT. 

John had various jobs throughout his career, his first being at G. Fox as a sales person. For most of his life John worked as a promoter raising monies to benefit countless public service organizations. 

John lived in various parts of the country including California and Louisiana until returning to Connecticut, when he joined the family business, Thomas Gianni & Sons with his father and brothers until his retirement in 2016. He then began working part time at Goodwill where he worked up until becoming ill. 

His claim to fame, and he loved to tell the story, is that he attended Woodstock and on the way there, while hitchhiking he was picked up by Carlos Santana.

John enjoyed attending the Men’s UCONN basketball games, and watching sports on T.V.  He was an avid UCONN Husky, New York Yankee and New Orleans Saints fan.  John also had a love of motorcycles, his first bike was a Honda 305 Super Hawk and later a Harley Davidson.  He had a love for animals, especially his hunting Beagle, Sandy.

John was a kind person who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

He was a longtime friend of Bill W, and helped many others on their journeys.  If you needed anything, John was there.

The family would like to thank the staff of the St. Mary’s Hospital ICU and the VITAS Inpatient Unit for their care and compassion given to John, during his illness.

John is survived by his sibling; Lilia “Lee” Theroux and her husband, Paul, Thomas Gianni Jr. and his wife, Mary Alice, Carmen Gianni and his wife, Desiree, all of Wolcott; his nieces and nephews, Gregory Theroux, Brittany Moreno and her husband Chris, Thomas Joseph “TJ” Gianni, Ashley Gianni and Amber Gianni;  his best friend, Phil Peloquin, whom he considered another brother; a stepdaughter, Miranda LoRusso of Terryville; a stepson, Frank “Mondo” O’Brien of Torrington; several great nieces and nephews; and 2 grandsons, Nicholas LoRusso and Lucas LoRusso.

Arrangements:  Funeral will be held Friday, January 10, 2020, 10 a.m. from Chase Parkway Memorial/The Albini Family Funeral Home, 430 Chase Parkway, Waterbury to Mary Mother of the Church Parish ~ St. Leo the Great Church, 14 Bentwood Drive, Waterbury for a Mass of Christian Burial with the cremains present at 11:00 a.m.  Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.  Calling hours will be held Friday, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home.