Obituary
John Bernard Lundstrom Jr., 74, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida passed away in his home on July 30th 2022 from natural causes. He was predeceased by his father, John Bernard Lundstrom Sr., his brothers Francis Joseph (Buster) Lundstrom and George Michael Lundstrom and his mother Helene M. Lundstrom. He is survived by his wife, Donna Lou Lundstrom, his three children (Stewart Daniel Lundstrom, Traci Helene Lundstrom and Wesley James Lundstrom), his siblings (Joanne Helene Merkel, Edward Nathaniel Lundstrom, Stephen Walter Lundstrom and James Thomas Lundstrom), his eight grandchildren (Amanda May Lundstrom, Raven Marie Williams, Tabitha Rose Wilkerson, Wesley James Lundstrom II, Alexis Skye Lundstrom, Brianna Lynn Lundstrom, Kacey Leigh Lundstrom and Christian Thomas Lundstrom) and four Great Grandchildren.
John was born on July 23rd 1948 in Alexandria Virginia. John would fondly recall how his father used to take him to the Bowie horseracing track when he was young. John was also a huge Elvis Presley fan. John’s brother recalls one year that their father set up the nativity scene for Christmas while listening to holiday music before leaving to go to the store. When their father returned home, John was blaring Elvis tunes on a loudspeaker to the whole neighborhood! The whole family moved to Seat Pleasant in 1963, when John was 15 years old. He began working in carpentry shortly after.
John met Donna when he was 16 years old, and they dated for 4 years before marrying on August 9th 1968. They lived in Glen Bernie, Maryland, and John worked as a carpenter. They were blessed with three wonderful children (Stewart, Traci & Wesley), and moved to Arnold Maryland in 1977. Over the years, John and Donna explored all kinds of new adventures. They were active in their community association, planning events and fundraisers. John and his best friend, Steve Clutz, did antiques/auctioneering and restoration. They also owned Furnace Branch Discount Center. John started his own construction company, and he and Donna became race-horse owners and created JonaDona Stables.
John and Donna bought a farm in Pennsylvania in 1988 to breed racehorses. Shortly after, John was in a construction accident, which left him as a paraplegic. That could only slow him down for a little while. He still continued creating his dream of building their horse farm with the help of friends and family, as well as helping his family with their own projects. There were many family work-parties where Grandma Lundstrom would cook a feast while everyone worked! You could often see John out in the stables feeding his favorite mare, Due Here, peppermints and giving her kisses.
After the loss of his favorite horse, and dealing with the harsh winters of Pennsylvania, John and Donna came to visit family in Florida and fell in love with New Smyrna Beach. They bought their dream home in 2001! John always said that he wanted to have an inviting vacation spot for all his family and friends to be able to enjoy. After a few years of remodeling, they decided to get two little sister Yorkshire terriers, Laverne & Shirley, whose favorite place to sit was on Johnny’s lap. Donna always called them his “chick magnets”, because he would always be chatting with lots of women wherever they went.
Even up until his last days, you could always find John working on a project. He was always happiest creating new things or making improvements to his surroundings. He could strike up a conversation with anyone, and people instantly liked him. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him!
The family will be holding a memorial service for John at the Riverside Park in New Smyrna Beach Florida on Saturday Sept 24th at 10:30am Eastern Time. For anyone who is unable to join in person, please feel free to join by Zoom using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85161397368?pwd=V3AwQzk0NU5Meld4QkVUSDArWmNqZz09
Sending thoughts and prayers to the family.