John Dominick Ventura

John Dominick Ventura, age 79, of Las Vegas, died November 16, 2011. John was born May 4, 1932 in Utica NY. He is the son of the late Ercole and the late Maria (Statti) Ventura. John graduated from Albany NY School of Pharmacy and served as a hospital corpsman in the US Navy during the Korean War. He had an extensive career in sales and public relations, most notably as a training and sales leader for Scott-Brown and Co. and publisher of the Mohawk Valley Times newspaper. John's true interests were in singing and acting. He moved to Los Angeles after the navy and had a role in the 1958 Western, "Gunsmoke in Tucson." After moving to Las Vegas in 1960, John worked as a lounge singer under the name, Giovanni Ventura, at the Sands, Desert Inn, Sahara and Stardust. John was active in the Knights of Columbus and other civic organizations. He is survived by his wife, Diane Ventura; and siblings Rufus (Lucille) Ventura, Sam (Toni Garguilo) Ventura, Jeanie (Kenneth) Elliott, Marie (John) Scialdone, and Louie (Jeanette) Ventura. A Rosary will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 30 at St Francis deSales, 1111 North Michael Way, Las Vegas, NV 89108, with Mass immediately following and then a reception. Burial will be at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City on Thursday, December 1 at 2:00 PM. .