John Baretsky Jr.

John was born on February 29, 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression. He grew up in Hudson, NY where he played baseball in the cinder lots on the side of the river, performed in a harmonica quartet and a mandolin orchestra and developed a knack for story and joke-telling. John developed a deep passion for the art of performing magic and slight-of-hand whether it be in the back theatre of the Hudson Public Library or in the street out of the trunk of his car. He remembered buying both morning and evening editions of the Post when Pearl Harbor was bombed and promptly enlisted with the United States Marine Corps.

After the service John found his way to Ohio where he worked as a Fuller Brush man, an orderly in an insane asylum and a door-to-door sewing machine salesman but it was his job at a television factory that would set his life on a new and “prosperous” path when he met his beloved wife, Virginia. John and Virginia eventually moved to Central Islip where they raised eight children while he worked a variety of jobs before settling into his position at the school district for more than 30 years until his retirement.

In retirement John enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, continued his hobby of practicing magic and spent countless hours aiding the homeless. There was rarely a day he could not be found driving through town, whistling a tune and finding someone down on their luck - offering whatever help he could.

John is survived by his brother, Paul, eight children - Michelle, Linda, Elizabeth, John, Patricia, Virginia, William and Peter, 13 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.