John Oldja

John Oldja, 63, of St. Petersburg died Saturday, July 16, 2016 at Woodside Hospice surrounded by family. Born in communist former Yugoslavia to Ruzica and Dmitri Oldja, he came to the US after three attempts to escape. He arrived in Paterson, NJ, at the age of 17 with his parents and brother with little English and few possessions. By strength of character and drive to succeed, John received a BA in Philosophy from William Paterson College. He was the Men's ping pong champion, and it was there that he met the love of his life, Diane, the Women's ping pong champion. They married in 1978 and shortly thereafter packed all of their belongings into a car with no air conditioning and a missing back window, and relocated to Florida. Ever entrepreneurial, John worked in multiple aspects of residential and commercial construction throughout his career. He oversaw construction of many Public Storage units in the Southeast region. Together with his wife, he bought houses, fixed them up and sold them before the term "flipping" was coined. He ran both a popular roofing company and construction company, managing crews but also completing much of the work himself. He held a General Contractor's license, and enjoyed working with his hands. At the height of the recession he founded Oldja Enterprises Kitchen & Bath and grew it into Tampa Bay's premier residential remodeling company. John was a lifelong athlete, playing as a forward in college and with the St Pete Kickers Men's soccer team. To say he was a soccer fanatic is an understatement; when off the field he would frequently watch games on TV or travel with friends or family to watch World Cup and Euro tournaments. John spoke seven languages, and shared his love of travel with his family, having visited over 40 countries. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Diane Oldja, two adult children John Oldja and Lauren Oldja, daughter-in-law Erica Oldja, granddaughter Caroline Oldja, age 4, who was the light of his life, and his mother, Ruzica Oldja. He leaves behind a thriving kitchen remodeling business, from which he never fully retired, and many close friends. A special thank you to his soccer buddies Miodrag Zivaljevic and Refik Kozic who shared his love and enthusiasm for life and soccer. Also, thank you to the staff at Hospice for their unending kindness. Yours is truly a special calling, and you were there in our hours of need. Visitation will be held 5-8pm on Wednesday, July 27th at Anderson McQueen, and a Celebration of Life service will be held at 11am on Thursday, July 28th at First Unity Church: 460 46th Ave N, St Petersburg. In lieu of flowers please consider a Memorial donation to the American Lung Association: www.lung.org