John Polinchock

Obituary

John B. Polinchock passed away on July 20, 2024 in Kissimmee, FL surrounded by his family in his final hours. If you were surprised to learn he was sick, that’s just what he wanted! He didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him or worrying about him.

John was one of the early people to contract COVID-19 in February 2020, before we even knew it had arrived in the United States. But it didn’t take him down then, no, John was tough. He would have to contract it at least one more time in September of 2022 before the lung damage was severe enough to really start to impact his life. He got four more years of life than most people who contracted it early in the pandemic got, and for that his family is grateful.

But enough about his death, let’s talk about his life! John was born May 10, 1947 in Queens, NY to Mildred and John J. Polinchock. John was the first born son in a family that included twins Christopher and Mary Eileen, Robert, and Judy.

John proudly served in the United States Navy for five years including being qualified in submarines on the U.S.S. Harder and having the adventure of a lifetime passing through the gateway to the top of the world, the Arctic Circle, in July of 1968.

John met Patrice Lineburgh in 1970 and they were married on October 8, 1972. They had three children together; John T. Polinchock (life partner Jennifer Burke), Jennifer Woodruff (husband Daniel Woodruff), and Denise Polinchock (life partner Tony Wyatt). They relocated from Long Island, NY to Orlando, FL in the summer of 1979. He frequently travelled back north for work trips and loved achieving his “Jersey jealousy tan” to show off the perks of living in Florida to his much paler co-workers.

John loved being a Grandpa to Evan and Lily Woodruff and Ripley Wyatt. John and Patrice travelled to Las Vegas, NV for their 35^th wedding anniversary where John was thrilled to finally visit Roswell, NM, the site of an alleged UFO crash in 1947. If you ever had the fun of stepping into John’s den at home, you would quickly discover his passion for all things strange and unusual!

John worked at AT&T and later Lucent Technologies from July 1965 to July 2001. He made many lifelong friends during his 36 year career there, many of whom he would reconnect with on Facebook years after retiring. John went on to find his “fun retirement” jobs at SeaWorld Orlando, first taking a position working in Security for the park and later transferring to the Audio Engineering department where he was truly in his glory being able to take microphones, speakers, and other equipment apart and repair them every day. He made many new lifelong friends during his time at SeaWorld as well; he couldn’t help but make friends everywhere he went!

A lifelong learner, John earned a diploma in Electronics Technology from De Vry Institute of Technology, a certificate from the Management Institute at the University of Central Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering and Communications.

John loved his dogs, Willis and Tank, Toby and Molly, and his current pair Brandy and Barney. John met his neighbors all around his current neighborhood while taking the dogs out for walks. Like I said, he made friends everywhere!

John was loud, funny, and not afraid to be the center of attention. He loved photography, especially taking pictures of nature. He loved jogging and bike riding and tormenting his family with the promise of “sweat hugs” after exercising. He achieved his goal of completing the New York City Marathon in 1978. After decades of driving practical family cars, he finally got his green Jeep in 2000 and he loved taking it off roading whenever he could.

To know him was to be entertained by him. He loved putting up elaborate holiday displays for Halloween and Christmas. He loved striking funny poses for pictures and sharing his favorite jokes.

A celebration of his life will be planned for a later date and will be sure to include lots of shared stories and laughter. In the meantime, we would love to hear your favorite stories about our beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Please feel free to share them here. We would love to see them!