John Christopher Fiore

John Fiore, our beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away suddenly on May 13, 2019. A native of Brooklyn, NY, John initially served eight years on active duty with the United States Air Force as a KC-135 pilot. He joined the 170th Air Refueling Group of the New Jersey Air National Guard at McGuire AFB in November 1978. For the next twenty years John worked as an instructor pilot in the KC-135E, served during Desert Storm and retired in 1998 as the Chief of Flight Standards Division. John’s career in corporate aviation began in 1982 in New Jersey and continued in California from 1998 until 2018 flying all models of the Canadair Challenger aircraft. At the time of his passing, John held the position of Director of Operations for the San Jose division office of Gama Aviation. In addition to John’s love of aviation, he cultivated his other passion for growing grapes and winemaking at the family’s Burke Ranch vineyard in Plymouth, CA. John’s legacy will be the continuation of bringing family and friends together to pick grapes, bottle wine and enjoy celebrating the joys of each harvest year. John is survived by his wife of 47 years Susan, daughters Genevieve Lynch (and her husband Edward Lynch), Mary Cignarella (and her husband Pasquale Cignarella), his five cherished grandchildren Jacob, Antonia, Sophia, Zachary and Rebecca, and his beloved sister Rosemarie Talorico and husband Anthony Talorico. Friends are invited to attend a mass of Christian burial on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 11:00 AM at St. Katharine Drexel Church in Jackson CA, followed by a celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of John to: Wounded Warrior Project PO Box 758517 Topeka, KS 66675 or online at https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org