John Anthony Paro passed away on June 4, 2024, in Burr Ridge, just a few months short of his 94th birthday.
John was born in 1930 to Croatian immigrants Ivo and Marija Paro in the Riverside neighborhood of Seattle, Wash., a tight-knit community that made an indelible impact on his character and outlook. The family moved 11 years later to San Pedro, Calif., where John attended Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Junior High School, San Pedro High and Loyola Marymount University.
As a young man, he frequently worked as a commercial fisherman, longshoreman or lumberyard laborer up and down the West Coast, all while making his mark as a football standout and leader on campus, with the invaluable encouragement of his greatest influences: his high school sweetheart, Sophie, and Loyola's Jesuit faculty.
After his U.S. Army service, he completed his bachelor's degree and began his professional career, first at Bethlehem Steel and then for more than three decades at SmithKline & French, which brought him and his family to the Philadelphia suburbs in 1967. During his SmithKline career, he worked in commercial and operational roles of increasing responsibility. His career included a stint as general manager of a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Freeport, Bahamas, from 1980 to 1985, overseeing its construction, hiring and directing all staff, ensuring the facility's success and safety and acting as an industrial ambassador to the Freeport community. He was especially suited to this last role, given his communication talents, integrity and sociability - traits that shone brightly in all areas of his life.
Although John was an only child, he was very often considered a virtual brother to those who loved him, the person they would seek out to celebrate milestones or discuss major life decisions. His children and grandchildren are grateful for the example he set and the many passions he passed on: pride of heritage, long-lasting friendships, warm hospitality, family singalongs, guitar, and enjoying music (of all kinds), sports and sportsmanship, storytelling, fishing with grandchildren, golfing with friends, lifelong learning, a love of language, and above all, the joys and blessings of a devoted marriage.
He is reunited with his wife, Sophie, who passed away in the fall of 2023.
He is survived his four children; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; nephews, nieces and many friends.
A visitation will be held starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, 5005 Wolf Road, Western Springs, followed by a funeral Mass. A reception will immediately follow at King-Bruwaert House, 6101 S. County Line Road, Burr Ridge.
Donations in John's memory may be directed to King-Bruwaert, http://www.kingbruwaert.org, or to the Bethesda Project, http://www.bethesdaproject.org.
Sullivan Funeral Home Hinsdale handled the arrangements.
