John Batista

John Veloso Batista, affectionately known as Popi, was a devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He passed away peacefully after a short and difficult fight with acute myeloid leukemia, in the early morning of July 11, 2024 at the age of 90 in Westerville,Ohio.

He was born April 18, 1934 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He grew up in a small house off the highway with his parents, Alfredo and Maria Batista, and his older brother, Julio (Jay). He was brought up in a Portuguese community, speaking only Portuguese until he was 5 years old. At the early age of 10, John won a drawing contest and the prize was taking an art class at the Rhode Island School of Design. This encouraged his passion for pen and ink art, which led to a lifetime of artistic pursuits. He was best known for his annual Christmas cards and framed art displayed proudly by family and friends. John generously donated his talent by creating artwork for organizations including Christ Child Society, Western Maryland/McDaniel College, St. Charles Borromeo Church, and Fairmont East High School.

In high school, John was president of his class, excelled in track and field, and was offered multiple scholarships to play college football. He accepted a full scholarship from Western Maryland College, now known as McDaniel College, and was a 4-year starter as a blocking back for the Green Terrors. "The Hill" was a special place where he studied history and made many lifelong friends, most importantly, his best friend and wife, Suzanne. After graduating, they married on June 30, 1956 and in 2021 marked 65 wonderful years of marriage.

John was a proud US Army Veteran, serving two years in ROTC while in college, two years in active duty, and four years in the reserves. He believed his experience in the army prepared him for anything he would encounter in business and in life. From his diverse job background of a clothing van driver, soda machine stocker, plastic costume jewelry polisher, gas station attendee, playground maintainer, steel plant worker, and rug cleaner, he eventually landed in the grocery industry after his first job of delivering groceries with his cousin, Lucy. He was inspired by how happy the customers were to receive their goods. He spent 42 years in the grocery business until retirement, holding positions at Kroger and Super Foods, Inc./Nash Finch.

John and Suzanne enjoyed playing tennis into their 70s, meeting some of their very best friends. For over a decade, John volunteered as a docent at the Dayton Art Institute, where he was able to immerse himself in his love for art while providing entertaining tours for groups of school children and adults. He was a devoted Catholic, carrying his rosary with him every day, and volunteering for multiple church groups. John spent his most recent days taking classes at Otterbein University and Worthington Griswold Center, meeting virtually with groups of friends, listening to smooth jazz, spending breakfasts at the cool kids table in the "prison" (Westerville Senior Living), and sharing meaningful, detailed, unbelievably entertaining stories of his full life.

John was preceded in death by his best friend and wife Suzanne, his parents, his brother, his daughter Maria, his nephew David, and many friends. He is survived by his children John (Jay) V. Batista Jr. (Annette), Michael J. Batista (Marcia) and Elizabeth B. Haines (James); grandchildren Rachael Batista (Joseph), Nicholas Batista (Courtney), Benjamin Batista (Nicole), Jessica Bertolini (Kyle), Hannah Simonds (Mark) and Jacob Haines; great grandchildren Wesley and Rita Berger, and Micah Batista; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A visitation will be held on August 16, 2024 from 6:00-8:00pm at Westbrock Funeral Home, 5980 Bigger Road, Kettering, OH 45440. A funeral mass will be held on August 17, 2024 at 10:30am at St Charles Borromeo Church. In lieu of flowers, family requests contributions be made to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Ohio River Valley, online at https://www.lls.org or via mail to Southeast (Ohio River Valley), PO Box 22443, New York, NY 10087-2443; and Honor Flight Columbus by check to Honor Flight Columbus, PO Box 20133, Columbus, OH 43220 or via Venmo @HonorFlightCMH (last 4 digits of phone, 2203).

If unable to attend in person, please join us in prayer and participate virtually at www.stcharles-kettering.org.