John Elden Mashtare,

Jones-Gallagher Funeral Home340 E. Walker DriveKeystone Heights, FL 32656(352) 473-3176 (352) 473-4637www.jonesgallagherfh.comOn the morning of August 8th, at 11:55am, at UF Health Shands Hospital, John Elden Mashtare Sr., age 61, entered into heaven after fighting a long and hard battle against cancer. He passed in the presence of many loved ones.John was born in Herkimer, NY at 11:50pm, on January 6, 1954. He was the 5th of 8 children born to Mrs. Lois Evelyn Mashtare, and Mr. Francis Henry Mashtare.Growing up John was the one that would stick up for his other siblings and make sure nobody treated them wrong.His sister Francine recalls one day out on the farm when John taught her how to shoot her first handgun.His oldest brother Richard always held a special place in Johns heart as he had to take on the role of protector and guardian since he was often the target of his peers to pick on. John wouldnt let anyone treat "Skipper" as most people called him any differently.Sherill was one of Johns older sisters and she too was taught by John how to shoot a gun, and she loved paying "guitar hero" with John as well as riding 4 wheelers on her many trips to Florida to visit him. She was proud to call John her brother and looked at him as a jack of all trades and says "there was nothing he couldnt do".John lost three brothers Carl, Francis Jr or "Sonny Boy", Henry or "Buddy Boy" as he was referred to at a very young age.John was always cheerful and could put a smile on anyone face. It seemed like he could carry on a conversation with anyone from a homeless man to a millionaire, it was all the same to him.At the age of 20 he met his soon to be wife Tina Young, who would knowthat it would be his lifelong partner of 40 years.Tina would refer to him as "lovey".They lived in Springfield, Ohio and eventually moved back to New York where they raised their 3 kids, Tim, Lois and John Jr.John cared for Tina and always made sure she was comfortable and had what she needed.As the children grew so did their marriage. They were either busy working, taking care of the home or making sure the kids werent up to no good as they often needed as kids always need to be kept on track but that was the good stuff that they enjoyed.When it was time to get away and have fun John enjoyed taking his family to Hinckley Lake boating. He enjoyed watching his son Tim skiing and his youngest son John Jr or JB as he would refer to him as on that famous yellow "banana" knee board! Lois could be found with her longtime friend Missy Lynch laying out in the sun.John enjoyed a long list of hobbies and interest including camping, fishing, hunting, bowling, 4 wheeling, cookouts, watching his favorite team the Buffalo Bills, playing computer games, watching some of his favorite TV shows and most of all taking his motorcycle out to enjoy the open road.His true joy came in the form of building and fixing just about anything he could get his hands on. He was a true jack of all trades and would take things apart just to see if he could put them back together.Poppy or Papa as most of the grandkids called John loved spending time with him. It was the little things like asking the kids to go to the store that the grandchildren will miss the most.He loved animals especially dogs. It didnt matter if they were big or small. He had a Chihuahua named "Killer" that would attach Great Danes around town and bigger dogs like Rottweilers. Rock was one of his favorites along with Bear, an Alaskan Husky with one brown and one Blue eye. His latest dog "Buddy" was a special little guy often spending most of the time sitting behind of or on top of John, never wanting to leave his side.One of Johns earliest jobs while living in Ohio was delivering propane gas, and eventually starting J& J Home Improvements with his late cousin Jerry Mashtare, at one point employing a dozen men until the biggest job filed for bankruptcy protection leaving their company forced to close the business.He went on to work at Select-A-Vision, a local cable TV company where he was a "cable man", installing and servicing cable TV customers.He eventually earned the responsibility of maintaining and installing the main head-end stations where broadcasting took place and was responsible for service to hundreds of thousands of homes.After many years of devoted service he ventured into the satellite business and was a pioneer in the DirecTV world obtaining one of the first DirecTV dealerships in the U.S. and created what is still today Johns D.S.S. where he sold and installed DirecTV.Johns youngest was always by his side wanting to learn and eventually took an interest in the satellite TV business and became his lifelong business partner and protg, where he taught JB how to operate a business and most importantly how to do things for himself. John remembers his Dad saying "anything worthwhile doing is worthwhile doing right".To most John will be remembered as the guy who could light up a room and always was joking and smiling. He was called upon by many to help fix just about anything and was happy to lend a hand.John was preceded in death by:Lois Mashtare (Mother)Francis Mashtare (Father)Margery Miller (Mother-In-Law)Frank Griziano (Father-In-Law)Carl Mashtare (Brother)Henry Mashtare (Brother)Francis Mashtare Jr (Brother)Gerald Mashtare (Cousin)Joan Redman (Step-Mother)Miriam Shemer (Sister-In-Law)Kenneth Woods (Friend)James Dodge (Brother-In-Law)Mad Jack [John Mashtare] (Cousin)Ed Bajgerowicz (Friend) John is survived by:Tina Mashtare (Wife)John Mashtare Jr. (Son)Lois Champoux (Daughter)Timothy Young (Son)Richard Mashtare (Brother)Russell Mashtare Sr. (Brother)Sherrill Way (Sister)Jeanie Windover (Sister)Francine Mashtare (Sister)Michael Champoux (Son-In-Law)Keith Way (Brother-In-Law)Ed Windover Sr. (Brother-In-Law)Jamie Kilts (Niece-In-Law )Adam Garabrant (Brother-In-Law)Michael Champoux (Son-In-Law)Raeleen CollardAl Snell (Brother-In-Law)Mary Snell (Sister-In-Law)Linda Dodge (Sister-In-Law)Stacy Williamson and FamilyLynch/Foster FamilyFred Mead (Friend)Jack ____ (Friend)Fuller FamilyBajgerowicz FamilyBrown Family Johns Nieces/Nephews:Sean Collard (Nephew)Joseph Mashtare (Nephew)Desiree Rice (Niece)Heather Leigh (Niece)Chris Fuller (Nephew)Eddie Windover Jr .(Nephew)Stephanie Windover-Foxwell (Niece)Shannon Windover-Lopez (Niece)Crystal Windover (Niece)Matthew Windover (Nephew)Russell Mashtare Jr. (Nephew)Peter Mashtare (Nephew)Angela Mashtare (Niece)Dora Topor (Niece)Addison Rice (Nephew)Kimberly DiPierro(Niece)Janelle Raymond (Niece)Jean Jones (Nephew)Margaret Marano (Niece)Anthony Dodge (Nephew)Johns Grandchildren:Adrianna Shelanskey (Granddaughter)Jared Young ( Grandson)Shelby Boone (Granddaughter)Justin Young (Grandson)Brayden Young (Grandson)Kallista Champoux (Granddaughter)Jacob Champoux (Grandson)Zachary Champoux (Grandson-In-Law) Additional Information: Viewing hours will be held at Jones - Gallagher Funeral Home at 340 East Walker Drive, Keystone Heights FL, 32656, on 8-14-2015 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The Funeral Service will be from 2:00pm-3:00pm. John Elden Mashtare Sr. will be laid to rest at the Keystone Heights Cemetery. Comments can be left on the Jones - Gallagher website. www.jonesgallagherfh.comDonations can be made in the form of a contribution to the American Cancer Society. hide