John J. Tauckus

Published in The Press of Atlantic City on 5/9/2009

TAUCKUS, JOHN J. 97 - of Mays Landing, died peacefully in his sleep on May 4, 2009 at the Health Center of Galloway.

He was born September 3, 1911, in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Kearny. He is predeceased by his loving wife, Gladys A. (Bright) of 49 years, his sister, Madeleine Lanzetti and his parents.

He spent many wonderful years in Nutley and Barnegat with his family before moving to Boynton Beach, FL. There he had many friends and spent most of his days on the golf course with his golfing buddies. When he turned 90, he decided to move back to New Jersey and live with his only daughter, Carole and her husband, John.

He worked for Peter J. Schweitzer & Co., a division of Kimberly-Clark as their Plant and Traffic Manager. He retired in 1972.

His entire life was blessed with the ability to transcend everyday work with the excitement and stardom of participating in all the sports a competitive athlete can master through adolescence into his golden plus years.

Enjoying all sports; skating, stick ball, basketball, football, boxing and his true love, baseball which allowed him to impress everyone who ever saw him play. His baseball career permitted him the opportunity to play on the same hallowed fields with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Satchel Paige and he even played in an exhibition game with the great Honus Wagner of years past.

"Turk" as he was known by all the local and regional leagues he played with, was recruited by the famous Walter Johnson to enter the Cleveland organization days before the Yankees were able to contact him with their flood of telegrams that arrived at his family home, with him en route to Cleveland by train and only his sister available to read them who had little knowledge of their importance to a blossoming, newly about-to-be-signed Cleveland rookie.

Once in a Cleveland uniform a miss-guided thrown ball by an opposing player, causing a head and arm injury ended a promising career long before it should have.

However, the Army became his next athletic stage by leading the physical training of many young and not so young recruits entering the service at the start of World War II. He accepted that responsibility with honor for the country that he loved.

The war ended, his family life matured with his loving wife, Gladys, and his newly arrived daughter, Carole; and a complete new company baseball career with Peter J. Schweitzer & Co. that also introduced him to a work career with them that lasted 35 years into retirement.

His love of sports never ended and his golf game continued until he was near 90.

His 97 years on God's beautiful fields of dreams was a time of life, love and countless blessings.

He is survived by his daughter, Carole and her husband, John G. Tobin, two nephews, Robert and Peter Lanzetti.

He will be lovingly remembered by his one and only wonderful, loving granddaughter, Jessica Amy Corke, for their weekly dinners, hair-cut outings and his fascinating stories - which Jessica says, "ranged from the many jobs he held during the Great Depression, serving as a 1st Sergeant in World War II, to playing professional baseball, to stories of my mother and me when we were younger. These stories have given me a family history that I would have never known."

He will be forever loved and never forgotten.

There will be a private family memorial service and celebration of his life held in June.

Condolences at www.radzieta.com