John M. Camillo

John was born on July 15, 1955 to Carol and John Camillo, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dorchester High School in 1975. After high school, John worked in Retail at Edison Brothers Shoes. In 1977, he went to work at Jerolds Men’s Store where he outfitted and tailored high end suits for rock and vocal artists/celebrities like new Kids on the Block, Bobby Brown, The Temptations, J. Geils, Peabo Bryson, Sha Na Na, Maurice Star and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. In 1980, he moved into Sales Management at D&K Sportswear, where he held the position of General Manager for 13 years. In 1993, John went to work with Local 88 Tunnel Workers Union as a Sandhog on the Big Dig Project. After relocating to Tampa, Florida, he worked as a Jewelry appraiser and Property Manager until his retirement. John’s first marriage produced four daughters, Zakia, Shalaye, Tafawni and Taneshia. After his divorce John met the love of his life, Erica in 1985. They were married on August 5, 1989. The union produced one child, Nicholas. John loved his family. They had enough of the cold New England weather and moved to sunny Florida in 1996 where he fell in love with the beaches. John was a lover of cars and motorcycles in every aspect. One of his wishes was to attend the Sema Car show in Las Vegas; unfortunately he was not able to fulfill that dream. He was a regular at the Daytona 500, Bike Week, and Octoberfest Bike Week. John was an avid history buff, loved old movies and spent a lot of his spare time watching The History Channel and TCM. John was very smart. He had the unique ability to figure things out with ease. He was a jack-of-all trades and could build or fix anything. Everyone went to John whenever they needed something fixed, whether it was a leaky faucet or replacing a car engine. He did it all. He was a true tradesman and his neighbors envied his tool collection. John was also an “Honorary Jamaican”. Not only was he a tradesman, he also moonlighted as a psychiatrist to family and friends – never suggesting what was right, but always had a listening ear. He traveled far and wide just to help someone in need. John was friendly and free spirited; he never met someone that he considered a stranger. He would meet people at the hardware store and invite them to the house for a cookout; to Erica’s surprise they would show up and she would ask: “Who are these people?” Everyone who met John loved him! John is survived by his wife, Erica; his son, Nicholas; daughters, Zakia, Shalaye, Tafawni, and Taneshia, along with six grandchildren, Kevin, Dajuan, Nohria, Demarco, Adrianna and Aliyah; his three God Children, Carlitta, Sataurus and Peter; his siblings, Carla (Joe) Cox, Tanya (Larry) Debnam, Theresa (Terry), Gina, Angela and Tony; sisters-in-law, Phyllis and Carol; brother-in-law Rayon, and his best friend who’s also like a brother, Terrence Brewster; mother-in-law, Ideita Perrier and the matriarch of the family, Vivan Taylor; Aunt, Camilla Roundtree; uncles, John Wyche, Carl Wyche and John Taylor; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. John is preceded in death by his parents, John and Carol Camillo and brothers, Manny and Mark. John was a spiritual person who knew the Lord. John would always say, “I know the Lord hears and knows me and that’s all I need.” John went home to be with the Lord on July 8, 2014 at the Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida after visits from his family and friends. He transitioned with his wife and son by his side. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 2, 2014 at Loyless Funeral Home. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of John Camillo to the American Cancer Society at www.americancancersociety.org