John Breen

John James Breen III, 82, of Ocala, FL, passed away on Tuesday, September 13, 2016. John was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 30, 1934 to parents, John James and Jennie (Scwrok) Breen. John grew up in Haddon Heights, NJ where he went to high school. After graduation, he went into the Navy. While he was stationed in Wisconsin, he met Joan and asked her to marry him. They had Jay and Joyce at the PatuxentNaval base hospital in Maryland and shortly after Joyce was born, moved to Berwyn Heights, MD where they resided and raised their kids before retiring to Ocala, FL. John was trained as an electronics engineer in the Navy. When he became a civilian, he continued in this line of work for various companies. His top secretclearance allowed him to work on many exciting projects including working with NASA in the Pegasus satellite program. He had a major role in the building of this satellite. The program consisted of a series of three American satellites launched in 1965 to study the frequency of micrometeorite impacts on spacecraft.John was very active in the Boy Scouts of America. He was a scout leader for many yearseven after Jay left scouting. The family belonged to a camping club which took us to many beautiful surrounding locations. When Joyce was in little theater, he was the sound and lighting person for the shows. He also wasvery active in our town and served as the town treasurer for years. A jack-of-all-trades, he was constantly fixing things and helping others fix theirs. He was forced to slow down dramatically after retiring due to Joan's health. He did however, get his real estate license, play pool every week, go to the theater and concerts and ride the golf cart around the neighborhood daily. Thanks to Ricky, his pet Shihtzu, he was never alone and met many people that he enjoyed talking to that he never would have met without him. John is preceded in death by his loving wife, Joan L. Breen, who passed away in May of 2014. He is survived by his son, Jay Breen; daughter, Joyce Leech; grandchildren; Timothy Leech, Michael Leech, Casey Leech, Skyler Leech, Jay E. Breen, Amanda A. Krot and Jeanette Williams; and great grandchildren, Cara Krot, Gavin Krot, Destiny Bigby, Nicole Leech, Jordan Leech, Mason Leech, and Caitlin Leech. A Memorial service will be held on Friday, September 16th at the Roberts Funeral Homes Bruce Chapel West, 6241 SW State Road 200, Ocala beginning at 1PM. John and Joan will be placed together in their final resting place at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at a later date to be announced.

John Breen

August 30, 1934 - September 13, 2016