John Krisko, Jr.

John Krisko Jr. was born to John Krisko & Anna (Markovich) Krisko on August 19, 1936, in
Patterson, NJ. His sister, Theresa Helen (Galloway) Krisko, was born on June 22, 1939. The
family of four then moved into a home their dad built on the top of a hill in Garfield, NJ, that overlooked Belmont Park. His family had a beautiful, terraced garden in the backyard and a canning room in the basement for fruits and vegetables in the winter. He was proud of his
hometown and enjoyed growing up in a neighborhood filled with immigrants and other first-
generation Americans. They never went to bed hungry, but the family was careful with money,
and you only got one of something. He always talked about how they had to “make it last,” or
they had to share.

He fondly recalled the area’s diversity and the mischief & games they played. He played
basketball with a leather ball with real laces and used a peach basket for a hoop. He listened
quietly to the radio after bedtime to Boston Red Sox games. When funds would allow, he would
go to the local candy store after school to get sweets and baseball cards. He walked along train tracks to pick up coal for the house and had chores to do (emptying the water from a melting block of ice in the “ice box”). He held jobs in the neighborhood like delivering newspapers and prescriptions, setting up pins (by hand) in a bowling alley, shining shoes (evenings in bars is where he made the most money but got in trouble with his mom for staying out too late), helping his dad with construction projects or in one of the bars his parents ran.

After graduating from Garfield High School in the class of 1954, he was the first in his family to go to college. He attended Rutgers University with a degree in economics and a fraternity major. One of his favorite recollections is that “he made the upper two thirds of the class possible”. He was proud to be a Chi Phi and lived at the fraternity house for three and a half years. He excelled academically and socially, loving his fraternity brothers and all of the antics they got into (some of the stories don’t age well). He was also a member of the Rutgers Army ROTC program and graduated in 1958.

John Krisko, Jr. received his Regular Commission in the US Army on June 16, 1958. After his
first duty posting in Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, he completed training in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, to become an artillery officer. He was deployed worldwide, serving his country and making the
best of the situation. He shared stories with his kids about his fellow soldiers, pet monkeys and the crazy stuff he saw as a General’s aide.

He married Emilia Janoska (daughter of Emerick Janoska and Emilia Kasni) on August 7,
1960. It was a traditional Slovak wedding in Saints Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral in
Passaic, NJ. The newly married couple was sent worldwide and had four children (Kenneth,
Kevin, Keith & Kyle) in four different duty assignments (his son Keith was born on his 35th
birthday).

He was a devoted father to his four sons. He was there for them in school, sports, scouting,
and other activities. He was a constant presence in their lives and loved to join them for
camping, outdoor activities and school. He reinforced the value of a strong family and
traditions. He loved to tinker with various projects, such as cars and house renovations, with an impressive workshop and carpentry skills. The family’s favorite move was the three years at
Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii. He loved spending time with the family in a new
environment. He enjoyed beach time, looking for shells, getting shaved ice and exploring all the other military bases and beaches on the island. He loved visits from the “mainland,” especially when John and Beverly Emery brought their kids, Genny and Chrissy. The memories from those visits live on in the family. It was on Oahu that his wife Emily began her career with Discovery Toys.

After Hawaii, he returned to the Fairfax, Virginia, home they bought early in the 1970s and served in the Pentagon. He retired on June 30, 1986, to spend more time at home and with his family.

He was incredibly proud of his service to the country and returned salutes until his last days. With live-in help from Nasta Macko, he and his sister Terry cared for his parents as they got older. He would drive his diesel VW back and forth between Fairfax and New Jersey any time of year and all sorts of weather. This time in New Jersey allowed him to spend time with his nephew Jon and his family in Minotola, NJ. Dad often shared funny memories he had with Jon’s children Konnor and Kassidy.

After his parents died, he could pursue other interests – such as travel, family, sports, family dinners out and at home and his “collections” hobbies (records especially). He loved the Washington Capitals and baseball – especially the Red Sox. One of his favorite trips was to Slovakia in 2007. He visited his parents’ hometowns of Vyšný Orlík (Krisko) and Legnava (Markovich) and reconnected with Nasta and her husband Vasil. He was able to see some of the extended family still living in Slovakia. He also loved the giant inter-generational vacations to Pine Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He was not much of a swimmer but preferred to search for shells, play with the grandkids and do jigsaw puzzles with Sandy Colley in the beach house. He really enjoyed outings for ice cream, Duck Donuts, or the seafood pots with crab legs/clams/mussels etc. He and Emily joined John and Beverly Emery in a 50th wedding celebration that filled two houses with family.

Dad and Kyle cared for Mom after her back surgery in 2023 and her path to walking again. They were present for each step forward and backward. He was incredibly proud of the progress she is making on her recovery journey.

He spent the last months living life to the fullest with his family and important events. He traveled to Athens, Georgia, for college graduation, visited Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox beat the Brewers, and attended a final dance recital and a high school graduation. He also had the chance to celebrate Father’s Day with family in the backyard, tend his tomato plants, and take a trip back to Garfield with his four sons to see his childhood home, school, candy store and parents’ gravesite. We stopped by Rutgers to eat a dinner of perogies and halupki in the parking lot of the Chi Phi house, where he could see the window of the room he lived in, then finished it off with a stop for ice cream. He returned from that trip tired but excited to see his wife. He was at peace as he knew the end may be near. Kyle cared for him with all the compassion, dedication, love and tenderness in the world.

In Dad’s final days, he spent every moment he could holding his wife’s hand and telling her how much he loved her and how lucky he was for such a life so fully lived. John Krisko Jr. died June 22, 2024, at home with family.

John left a full legacy with his family and friends that reflects the measure of who he was and what he meant to those around him. His sense of family commitment was evident in every aspect of his life. He and Emily were married for 64 years and raised four sons who live in the area. He was most proud of the family he helped create and shape. He would smile and take in our various big and small gatherings. He appreciated the strong bonds of the family in all directions and generations.

John and Emily loved hosting many family celebrations, especially the Easter lunch and festivities. They made slips to put in the plastic eggs, hid what seemed like 1,000 and had dozens of real eggs on hand for the tossing, racing and throw-over-the-house contests. He even helped with the ladder when something got stuck on the roof.

John only had sons but embraced all the wives as daughters (Michele, Kristin and Echo). He loved them for who they are and appreciated how they made his sons better. He picked out the best Hallmark cards to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and special days. It was clear he took a lot of time selecting a card with the right words or message. If a card read daughter-in-law, he would cross off the in-law part. We still have many of the cards he has given us.

John loved to support his grandkids’ (Allison, William, Claire, Anna, Madeline, Cacey, Hayden, Audrey and Anderson) interests from the sidelines or the audience for Cuppett performances, Flint Hill, Madison, Oakton, Marshall, VYS and college events and graduations. He smiled and cheered for soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, dance, softball, baseball, basketball, golf, cross-country, piano recitals, swim & dive meets, choral and percussion performances, robotics and anything else his grandchildren pursued (rain or shine).

John/Dad/Grandpa/G-pa/Pops loved to laugh with jokes, pranks and stories. He loved to tell the stories of the lost car keys, mismatched tent poles, fart machines and car trouble. He loved the reaction to his flip phone when the store clerk told him, “Use the app for the discount code.” The earliest Dad joke we can remember is the one about “Why do they put fences around cemeteries?” (It’s because people are dying to get in).

He loved getting a good deal on anything he bought. His couponing, rebates, and senior/military discount game was legendary. He loved to ask the question. “Guess how much I paid for this?” He took grandkids wherever they wanted to go, and having a peppermint lifesaver to hand out to happy kids was his trademark. Whether it was Build-a-Bear, lunch, or Home Depot to collect “free” paint samples, it didn’t matter as long as a grandchild or family member wanted to do it. Some notable highlights are getting in line early to be one of the first 100 customers to win free tacos for a year, wearing a cow costume for free meals, Slurpee day in July, Santa visits in December, serving as the designated “cookie taster” for Christmas baking, Halloween visits in his “scary” mask and being present for the little and big events. He loved the thrill of the deal but loved the time with his grandkids more.

John was a teenager in the 1950s, and that style of music was deeply imprinted on his soul. He loved the sounds and rhythm of that era. Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry and all of those at the birth of rock and roll. He frequently asked Alexa to play his favorite songs as he snapped and hummed around the house. He assembled a large and varied collection of vinyl records from yard and estate sales.

In lieu of flowers Memorial Contributions in John’s name may be made to the Fisher House Foundation, https://fisherhouse.org/

He prided himself on lifelong learning with various jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections. He loved to engage with other languages and cultures. He learned how to say thank you in over 50 languages and took pleasure in surprising people who helped him by thanking them in their native language. He would end this obituary with a simple

Ďakujem

(Slovak “thank you”)