John Panarese Obituary, Death – On November 10, 2022, John Joseph Panarese, Jr., 79, a resident of Naperville since 1987, died abruptly at his residence in the Carillon Club of Naperville. He was born on April 14, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, to the late John J. Panarese, Sr. and Marie Loeschorn, who raised him with love. When he was 12 years old, his family relocated to New Hyde Park on Long Island, New York, where he continued his Catholic education and received his diploma from Chaminade High School in Mineola in 1960. John attended Hofstra University on Long Island, earned a BA there in February 1965, and joined the US Army as a 2nd Lt. He eventually obtained his Master’s in Business Administration in December 1974.
He met his devoted wife Suzan (née Markowski) while attending Hofstra, and the two were wed on August 29, 1964. When his unit left for Vietnam the day before his first anniversary, he was initially assigned to the Ft. Bliss Army/Artillery Base in El Paso, Texas. He helped establish the Artillery base at the Ton Son Knut Airbase in Saigon for 13 months before returning home and completing his Army service in New Jersey. John started his professional career in April 1967 with Scott Paper Company – Consumer Sales in Parsippany, New Jersey. He was promoted during this time and relocated with his family to East Northport, Long Island, Loveland, Ohio, and finally Naperville, Illinois.
When Scott Paper was sold while John was still in Naperville, he was requested to stick around for another six months and facilitate the merger. In addition, he was successful in landing his next job as the 8-year sales manager at Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL). After that, John spent the following six years working in the health care sector, where he benefited from the many different cultures and the education he obtained. In 2009, he officially retired. John continued his 40-year commitment to racquetball while also becoming a Lacrosse official, his favorite sport to play in college. Additionally, he became a member of SCORE, a national nonprofit business group, where he remained involved up until his death.
He started a history group at the Carillon Club and was highly active there in 2014. He also taught history at the Senior Center for Benedictine University. He was the Wednesday coordinator for golf at Carillon in addition to the NNNC Golf league, which he helped establish over 25 years ago for the local guys. He was a man with various interests who lived by numerous mottos, such as service to others, family, and God. He lived by his most well-known maxim, “Carpe Diem,” which means “Seize the Day.” But for 58 years, his greatest love was for his wife Suzan and his family. They had three excellent sons: Mark Joseph (Cathy) Panarese of Evergreen Park, Illinois; Brad Michael (Allison) Panarese of Lithia, Florida; John Joshua (Angela) Panarese of Parker, Colorado; siblings Wayne (Janice) Panarese, Maria (Robert) Sullivan, Geraldine (Louis) Bonica, and Michael (Clare)
Panarese; and seven devoted grandchildren named Patrick John (PJ), Bridget, Nora, Grant, and Samantha; Numerous friends and his sizable family will miss him. The viewing will take place at Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Homes & Crematory, 24021 Royal Worlington Drive, Naperville, Illinois, on Sunday, November 20, 2022, from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
