John William McGinnis
July 6, 1957 ~ February 8, 2018
John William McGinnis, 60, of Vienna Virginia, died Thursday, February 8, 2018. John was born July 6,1957 in Jamaica, New York. John is survived by his loving wife of over 28 years, Paula D. McGinnis. Two daughters, Meghan McGinnis Mason and husband Robert. Brenna McGinnis Prince and her husband Sean. Seven grandchildren; Hannah Mason, Harper Mason, Ethan McGinnis, Owen Prince, Ben Prince, Landon Prince and Dallin Prince. His sister, Debbie McGinnis Mori and husband Bud, nephew William Mori and niece Page Mori. His kitties,
Ms. T, Gus, Tobias and Loki. Numerous cousins, his Aunt Moo and many dear friends.
John retired from a career at Giant after 30 years but he certainly didn’t retire from life.
1957-2018, “Pappa” John filled that dash with a lifetime of memories that his family and friends will cherish in the years to come. His larger than life happy gregarious laugh will be missed most of all.
Working on bikes for kids, rebuilding lawnmowers, road trips with friends and family. Anytime you caught up with “Pappa” John he was planning his next adventure with his grandchildren, road trip with his sister Debbie, his many bike trips both local and afar or working on raising funds for a cause near to his heart, Camp Jamison, and of course his volunteer work at Camp Jamison every summer for the past six years, in his words, getting so much more than he gave to the children at the camp. He was never far from his grandchildren for very long. Spending time with them was one of the great joys of his life.
John loved life and loved working with his hands. Rebuilding bikes, lawnmowers, tinkering on cars and if the weather was inclement he’d put together one of his many model cars. Never one to sit idle, in spite of the many health issues life threw at him he was always up for fun with his family and friends. Talk to his nephew William and he’ll tell you about his “crazy uncle” that had him climbing trees on a mini bike in Myrtle Beach. His niece Page will tell you of falling out of chairs, German festivals in the Catskills and camping. His sister Debbie will forever treasure their “crazy road trips” as she called them that they seemed to take every few months to visit family and friends and will mourn the loss of their weekly chats.
Meghan has so many wonderful memories of time spent with her dad, ski trips, fishing, swimming and trips to the Catskills.
Brenna cherishes the memories of trips to the Catskills and Brooklyn in their search for family history and genealogy, fishing and ski trips.
John continued this tradition with his grandchildren. Breakfast with “his girls” Hannah and Harper, fishing trips and Hannah’s new love of soccer.
His many trips to the Catskills with Ethan, fishing, bike riding. As Ethan got older he became grandpa’s copilot, enjoying trips to Cooperstown and “Pappa” John loved having Ethan come to Camp Jamison.
Owen, Ben and Landon shared their time with “Pappa” John, going to pumpkin patches, fishing, parks, hanging out in the backyard was an adventure when “Pappa” John came to visit.
John was so very excited about his newest grandson, Dallin, and was so looking forward to meeting him.
Being a grandpa, spending time and being silly with his grandchildren was one of his favorite pastimes possibly because John was still a child at heart. From his funny one- liners to his many pratfalls John was one of a kind, sweet teddy bear of a guy who always had a kind word and a hug for his many friends and family.
Paula, his “true north”, always keeping him grounded in his adventures, she shared his love of good music, quality time, teasing him about the shows he’d watch. Their time together was spent enjoying their kitties and planning the things that they were going to do, the trips they’d take together once she retired. John was always so proud to fix things around the house to make life easier for Paula. It was apparent early on that the “chef” in the family was John, and he relished his time in the kitchen, making baked ziti or chicken and rice, keeping Paula fed and blessedly happy in their 28 plus years of marriage.
A celebration of life will be held later this year for family and friends, details will follow at a later date.
The family asks in lieu of flowers for contributions to a charity near and dear to John’s heart, Camp Jamison at http://www.campjamisoncorp.org
Ms. T, Gus, Tobias and Loki. Numerous cousins, his Aunt Moo and many dear friends.
John retired from a career at Giant after 30 years but he certainly didn’t retire from life.
1957-2018, “Pappa” John filled that dash with a lifetime of memories that his family and friends will cherish in the years to come. His larger than life happy gregarious laugh will be missed most of all.
Working on bikes for kids, rebuilding lawnmowers, road trips with friends and family. Anytime you caught up with “Pappa” John he was planning his next adventure with his grandchildren, road trip with his sister Debbie, his many bike trips both local and afar or working on raising funds for a cause near to his heart, Camp Jamison, and of course his volunteer work at Camp Jamison every summer for the past six years, in his words, getting so much more than he gave to the children at the camp. He was never far from his grandchildren for very long. Spending time with them was one of the great joys of his life.
John loved life and loved working with his hands. Rebuilding bikes, lawnmowers, tinkering on cars and if the weather was inclement he’d put together one of his many model cars. Never one to sit idle, in spite of the many health issues life threw at him he was always up for fun with his family and friends. Talk to his nephew William and he’ll tell you about his “crazy uncle” that had him climbing trees on a mini bike in Myrtle Beach. His niece Page will tell you of falling out of chairs, German festivals in the Catskills and camping. His sister Debbie will forever treasure their “crazy road trips” as she called them that they seemed to take every few months to visit family and friends and will mourn the loss of their weekly chats.
Meghan has so many wonderful memories of time spent with her dad, ski trips, fishing, swimming and trips to the Catskills.
Brenna cherishes the memories of trips to the Catskills and Brooklyn in their search for family history and genealogy, fishing and ski trips.
John continued this tradition with his grandchildren. Breakfast with “his girls” Hannah and Harper, fishing trips and Hannah’s new love of soccer.
His many trips to the Catskills with Ethan, fishing, bike riding. As Ethan got older he became grandpa’s copilot, enjoying trips to Cooperstown and “Pappa” John loved having Ethan come to Camp Jamison.
Owen, Ben and Landon shared their time with “Pappa” John, going to pumpkin patches, fishing, parks, hanging out in the backyard was an adventure when “Pappa” John came to visit.
John was so very excited about his newest grandson, Dallin, and was so looking forward to meeting him.
Being a grandpa, spending time and being silly with his grandchildren was one of his favorite pastimes possibly because John was still a child at heart. From his funny one- liners to his many pratfalls John was one of a kind, sweet teddy bear of a guy who always had a kind word and a hug for his many friends and family.
Paula, his “true north”, always keeping him grounded in his adventures, she shared his love of good music, quality time, teasing him about the shows he’d watch. Their time together was spent enjoying their kitties and planning the things that they were going to do, the trips they’d take together once she retired. John was always so proud to fix things around the house to make life easier for Paula. It was apparent early on that the “chef” in the family was John, and he relished his time in the kitchen, making baked ziti or chicken and rice, keeping Paula fed and blessedly happy in their 28 plus years of marriage.
A celebration of life will be held later this year for family and friends, details will follow at a later date.
The family asks in lieu of flowers for contributions to a charity near and dear to John’s heart, Camp Jamison at http://www.campjamisoncorp.org
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To my baby brother – I will miss you so much but one thing that can not be taken away from me are the wonderful memories I have of you.
I always remember all the laughs we had at Store 85. You were like a big brother with your advice on all the boys I dated. You were so sweet to my parents too when they would come in and shop. My father still remembers you and sends his deepest sympathies to Paula and family. So glad we reconnected through Facebook. It was so nice to see pictures of your family, grandkids and your work at Camp Jameson. May you Rest In Peace John❤️
I have lived next-door to John and Paul for about 25 years now John always had a smile on his face and joy the outdoor life working in his garage specially with small engines always helping friends and neighbors without even hesitating Couldn’t ask for a better friend or a neighbor John will be terribly missed May you rest in peace
I worked with John for many years in the meat department of Giant. There isn’t enough time in the day to go over all the adventures we had.
His love for his family was obvious. Many days would be full of stories of what they did together. His excitement when it was time to get them their first car. Having his grand babies. I remember when he brought his nephew in for “ bring your child to work” day. He had him in all the garb and kept him busy all day. His simple love of Taco Tuesday. His appreciation when my mother would send him in a fresh baked loaf of banana bread. Did he share? Never!!
His love of a good joke. He brought a flatulent machine into work. The district manager came in that day. John and I walked up to him We were having a conversation and John would set the machine off. The DM would step away and John and I would step in. This went on for a bit, until we couldn’t contain ourselves.
There was the time he came back from his semi annual camping trip with a burn on his leg. He came in insisting that I needed to see it This would involve dropping his pants. I wasn’t having it. So he went out to the floor and pulled in another friend and proceeded to drop his pants to show us his newest injury.
I say newest injury because there was always something. The time we had “Company’s Coming” ( a major company inspection) and he went out on his 4 wheeler and wrecked. He came with broken ribs and a chest tube insisting he could work. That was the beginning of his back problems. The time he injured his hand making sausage. I spent the next day answering phone calls all day. My standard response for the day was “yes, it was his good hand.”
But John was not just fun and games. He was always willing to help. At one point he attempted to give advice to our store manager, Wayne Wilt. The next thing I hear is” don’t roll your eyes at me my kids don’t roll their eyes at me.” To my surprise, Wayne apologized. But that’s the power of John.
If he was your friend he was always your friend. I retired and then John retired. No matter how much time passed between speaking, he would welcome you back in the fold. But the world was good because you knew John was out there. Generally he was pretty busy as you could see from following him on Facebook. He is loved and he will be missed. RIP John.