John was born May 5th, 1927 in Schenectady, NY to John and Laura Coppolo. After graduating high school he enlisted in the Navy in 1944 where he served in the Pacific as a Fireman Second Class on the Command Ship U.S.S. Estes. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946 and went on to become a Maintenance Engineer at Albany State University. He later moved to Florida where he opened his own air conditioning repair business, Penguin Air until his retirement. John was a very active member of The American Legion, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the veterans group The Forty & Eight where he served as State Commander of New York in 1977. Survivors include his wife, Faith Coppolo, his sister Rosemary Rispole (Joe), sister-in-law Mavis Coppolo, children Sandra Fish (Richard) of Ft. Erie Canada, Bernadine Perham of Boston, Joanne Coppolo-Ehlin (Charles) of Boston, grandson Shawn Perham (July) of Maynard, Mass., grand-daughter Amber Dawn of Vancouver, Canada; great grandchildren Maya Perham and Andrew Perham. He is also survived by the mother of his children, Clara Coppolo, numerous nieces and nephews, and a special cousin, Patricia Hoeth. An infant son John and his brother Frank predeceased him. A gathering will be held at Cardwell, Baggett & Summers Funeral Home, 3571 S. Ridgewood Ave, Port Orange, FL 32129 Friday, September 5, 2014 from 4:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. A service of remembrance will begin at 5:00 P.M.