John Joseph Patinskas, 88, of Windham, NH, passed away peacefully on Tuesday January 24, 2017 with his loving family by his side after a long and courageous battle with cancer. John was born April 2, 1928 in Worcester, MA and was a son of the late John and Mary (Kilinskas) Patinskas. He was raised and educated in Worcester and received a degree in Accounting from Becker Jr. College. John had been a resident of Windham for over 30 years and previously lived in Burlington, MA for 30 years.
Mr. Patinskas served in the U.S. Army during WWII in the Pacific Theater as part of the occupation forces in the Philippines and in Japan. After returning home, John owned and operated a turkey farm in Westboro, MA and later became a self- taught refrigeration engineer. John worked for 30 years with the Excel Refrigeration branch of Market Basket Corporation, retiring as the HVAC Engineering Manager. He loved to work with his hands, displaying a special genius for building things, from boats to houses to computers. He especially enjoyed traveling, fishing and dog racing. John also was an avid coin collector, played golf, and along with his wife was a longtime league bowler.
Surviving members of the family include his wife of 66 years, Gertrude "Trudy" (Klaucke) Patinskas of Windham, a son and his wife, John Paul and Marilyn Patinskas, of Hudson, NH, a daughter and her husband, Ann R, and John William Truett, of Harvard, MA, three grandchildren, Jason, Brendan and Brian, and his sister and her husband, Ruth M. and Casimir (Chuck) Sarafinas of Holden, MA. John's family is extremely grateful to all of the kind and compassionate caregivers, nurses and doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Parkland Medical Center and Merrimack Valley Hospice. John's incredible joy for life and love of family has been an inspiration to all who knew him.
After cremation, a memorial visitation was held on Friday, January 27, 2017 at 12 pm in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 15 Birch Street, Derry, NH, with a memorial that began at 1 pm. Burial followed at Cemetery on the Plain in Windham. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are requested for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute\NHOH, 40 Buttrick Road, Londonderry, NH 03053.