John "Jack" Fletcher

John “Jack” Fletcher passed away peacefully in his home in Poinciana Florida on Saturday, August 24th. Jack was the married to the love of his life Christiana “Christi” LeFrancois Fletcher for 44 amazing years. He was the proud and loving father of three sons: Jonathan Charles Fletcher (fiancé Amanda Berenice Lau), Timothy Keith Fletcher (Nick Baune) and Patrick O’Neill Fletcher. Jack was the son of the late (Ret) Cmdr. Keith G Fletcher (USN) and Betty Lou Fletcher of Kansas. He was the beloved son in law of the late Catherine Y. LeFrancois of Connecticut. In addition to the above, Jack was preceded in death by his brother David K Fletcher (2023).

Those sharing in this loss are his sisters' Cheryl D. Fletcher (Trevor Lazarus), Deborah E Bautz, brother-in-law Robert C. LeFrancois (Leanne), Aunt Agnes O’Neill, five nephews, one niece, four great nephews two great nieces and many cousins and friends.

Jack was born in Fort Ord, California he was a proud son of a veteran and enjoyed living with his family, in California, Hawaii, Georgia, and Northern Virginia. He was blessed to primarily grow up in Northern Virginia once his dad was assigned to the Pentagon and Naval Yards in Washington DC. A graduate of Fort Hunt High School, Jack was a proud Eagle Scout and enjoyed working summers as a Camp Counselor in Goshen Virginia. 

Jack was a graduate from Northern Virginia Community college with an A.S. in Information Technology and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Tennessee Tech. During his time in college, he made many lifelong friends. Jack and his college friends were proud followers of Jimmy Buffett aka "Parrot heads." He shared this love with his wife and sons who have many memories of attending concerts, cruises or just enjoying the music together.

Upon graduation from college, he began working for Allegheny Airlines then US Airways in Washington DC. This was just the beginning of a long and successful career in the airline industry spanning 40 years. He was recruited by Piedmont Airlines (Winston Salem, NC) and then Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis MN) who merged with Delta Airlines in 2008. Jack was at Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines for 29 years in various roles in IT and IT management positions. Jack made so many wonderful lifelong friends wherever he worked and still spoke often to these co-workers.

Jack’s favorite role in life was being married to love of his life Christi for 44 years and raising their three sons. He was so proud of his sons and knew that his wife would be well cared for by his sons, so he could go with the Lord. He converted to Catholicism when they married in 1980. Jack and Christi were members of St Anne’s Parish in Haines City FL. He had a deep faith and love of God and Jesus Christ; his faith got him through some very challenging times.

In 2017, Jack and Christi bought a home in Florida in the 55 plus community of Solivita. After getting the Minnesota home ready to sell they both permanently moved to Solivita by the summer of 2018. The initial incentive to move was their son Jonathan who moved to central Florida to be a science teacher and of course the weather. A few years after that their son Patrick moved to Florida to manage a new hotel in the Disney area, then their son Timothy (Retired Law Enforcement Detective) and son in law Nick followed. Jack and Christi felt so blessed to have all their guys living not too far away. 

Jack loved life in Solivita and he volunteered as a Crew coordinator for Solivita Performing Arts. Jack and Christi enjoyed going to dances, musical performances, and being a member of the British Isles Club. He so enjoyed spending time with so many wonderful friends in Solivita. He was instrumental in getting a few friends he worked with at Delta to move to Solivita.

Unfortunately, after retirement Jack’s health declined. In time he had to go on peritoneal dialysis. He did all this with a smile and never complaining. Jack and Christi were blessed to make many trips together all over the world and even travel with his dialysis supplies on many long transatlantic cruises. In January 2024 Jack and Christi fulfilled their lifelong dream of opening their own cruise travel agency Wave Adventures Travel whose parent office is Select Sailings in Arizona. 

Sadly, Jack did not live long enough to see his son Jonathan marry his fiancé Amanda on December 14th later this year. We all know he will be with us in spirit and watching down from above with a large smile on his face.

Visitation for Jack will be held on September 3rd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. at Hiers- Baxley Funeral Home - Ocala Chapel 910 East Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on September 4, starting 10:00 a.m. at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church 5 SE 17th Street, Ocala, followed by burial at the family plot at Highlands Memorial Cemetery in Ocala. In lieu of flowers please kindly consider donating in Jack’s memory to the National Kidney Foundation.