John Conti

John Conti left this earth on July 16 at his home surrounded by those that loved him the most.

Although his brain left him long before his body, he was still entertaining as he thoroughly enjoyed going to the King buffet in Dover, DE where he was treated like royalty. 

He was born in Brooklyn, NY a little brother to three much older siblings, and a big brother to the two that followed.

Apparently, he enjoyed sneaking off to Coney Island on the train and wreaking havoc in the neighborhood.

He quit school at 15 to work at his family business, B&B Motor Freight where he was always bringing home items that “fell off the truck”. This included 30 pairs of black boots, leather jackets, an organ (music, not body part) and enough faber castell pencils and erasers that we still find them around the house.

He also had careers at Hertz- Penske where he couldn’t understand why he had to only fix the one thing he had a ticket for, when he knew those brakes needed fixing too and Papetti’s where he did refrigeration and cooling on the egg trucks. For those years, we dyed a lot of Easter eggs. He always worked third shift which forever changed his sleep schedule.

He had a long marriage to Irena Conti and raised their only daughter, Marisa (John Downs ) in Cranford, NJ. He was always puttering around the house and garden, adding skylights, building greenhouses and letting Irena contribute her artistic talent however she wanted. If you look at the garage you can still see the giant flowers she painted on them.

He earned his GED at the same time Marisa was in college, enjoying studying together in his favorite orange mumu.

He was lucky enough to find Pina, who was his beloved partner in crime for 33 years. Together there was no auction, flea market, garden center or antique shop that they didn’t find treasures in. He could always use something he got a good deal on. You never know when a giant vinyl archway may come in handy. 

He moved to Delaware in 2001 and he and Pina created a beautiful garden sanctuary on their blank acre of land. John built wishing wells, his favorite arches, birdhouses, paths of paving stones, and many plants and trees resurrected from the clearance aisle of Lowes and Home Depot.  The house did not escape his talents as he built a full bathroom in the hallway and a kitchen and bedroom in the closed-up garage to eventually be used as a rental or in-law suite. As of now, guests wonder why there is a toilet and shower at the end of the hall as they enter in the back door. Of course, every doorway was converted into an archway.

His love language was acts of service. Great but, many times on his timeline and we were left with 5 scoops of topsoil in the driveway or a delivery of 30 large rocks to add to his many ongoing projects that were nearly finished but not quite.

He was smitten with his granddaughters, Samantha Conti (Harrison White) and Maddie Jones, and had Hannah Neitzelt as his bonus granddaughter.

He enjoyed Sunday dinners with his family, requesting a meal that wasn’t “Yuppie food” and proudly drank his after-dinner coffee from his Papa mug. He was a quiet observer, but always offered the best life advice.

His work ethic lives on in his daughter and his empathy and compassion live on in his granddaughters. His love of cats and dogs live in all of us. He was the most generous man with his time and effort and would do anything for anyone at any time. 

He will be painfully missed as he leaves behind his adored partner Pina Kafantaris, his daughter and granddaughters as well as many others who’s lives have been touched by this incredible, strong and kind man.

Letters of condolence may be sent to: www.pippinfuneralhome.com

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