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Originally written November 2004
It does not seem right, I just can't believe we are mourning John. He had his ups and downs, like the rest of us, but lately John had been very 'up' about the direction of his life.
St. Petersburg Times, 22-Oct-2004
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John was a complex guy, and very bright. He wouldn't take "facts" at face value, and was always looking for perfection, which of course is difficult and rare. He was quiet and reserved at times, but spoke his mind. He was serious, but he did not take life too seriously. A delicate and admirable balance.
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Services for John were held on October 24th, 2004 at the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks in Largo, where there is a plaque in his honor.
Listen to a song written for
John and played at his memorial.
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Among the myriad of things he did, John Donniacuo was a co-founder of the original Florida Rich Rags in 1978, and was in & out of the band for the next two years. I've always liked to say that he was one of the few guitar players I ever saw that could simply play a note, hold it, and make it sing. He was a prodigy, and it seems he may have paid for that gift in other ways.
Rich Rags, 1979
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His recent shoulder surgery promised to soon allow him to again play disc golf and guitar, and he was excited and helpful in promoting our promising Rich Rags "retrospectacle" CD project. That project has stalled, perhaps indefinitely, without him. He was looking forward to a Rags mini-reunion, which he would attend, if not participate.
Unbelieveably, that was not to pass.
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John M. Donniacuo III
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John got us started playing disc golf about ten years ago. I might have thought it silly in the eighties when he told me about it, but once it became a formalized sport with baskets and nation-wide popularity, I was hooked. It's (in my opinion) all the fun and "exercise" of (ball) golf in half the time and a fraction of the cost. I will always be grateful to JD for showing me the light, as I've played wonderful courses, and met very nice people doing so, across our great country and Canada.
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Disc Golf in Clearwater, Florida
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Here are some John Links:
His Resume
We played a Disc Golf tournament together years ago
At GA Tech Nuclear Research Center
John's domain name - kept alive courtesy Frank (and Cat) Silano
I feel very badly for John's parents. It was only recently they lost his only sibling, Suzie, a few years ago. I know it jogged older brother John quite a bit.
| HYNSON, PEGGY SUE, 41, of Palm Harbor, died Saturday (Jan. 20, 2001) at home. She was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., and came here in 1974 from Long Island. She worked as an accountant and horticulturist. She was Christian and an avid auto racing and Bucs fan. Survivors include a son, Charles G. III, and a daughter, Crystal S. Hynson, both of Palm Harbor; her mother, Peggy Gillespie, Largo; her father, John M. Donniacuo, Clearwater; a brother, John M. Donniacuo III, Palm Harbor; and her grandmother, Edith Donniacuo, Clearwater. Abbey Affordable Cremation & Funeral Services, Largo. |
I hope Charley and Crystal are going to be all right. John was very fond of them.
Anyway, it just goes to show you that it is prudent to tell the ones that mean something to you how you care about them. You'll feel good about it when you do so, and you will feel glad you did later when you no longer can. I believe John knew how I felt about him. He knew my admiration and respect ran deep. In all the everyday, tenuous, all-the-time-in-the-world minutes we shared I know I told him once or twice.
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John is walkin' on the green
in heaven with our pal Stan.
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After Glow
John's memorial service program
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an after glow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing
times and bright and
sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who
grieve, to dry before the sun
Of happy memories that I leave
When life is done.
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