John Arruda Medeiros

John Arruda Medeiros, 66, of Kearny, New Jersey, passed away on Friday, July 21, 2017. John was born on November 1, 1950, to Joao & Maria Medeiros on the island of San Miguel, Azores (Portugal). At the age of three he found himself traveling to America along with his sister Cidalia & their mother in search of a better life where they settled in the Ironbound section of Newark. They were later joined by their father & the family later came to have one more addition when his brother Joe was born in 1961. John attended East Side High School & graduated in 1969. As a young man he enjoyed many activities like playing the trumpet & saxophone & playing pool with his brother Joe. John entered the Army in 1969 where he made a friend, Carlos. Little did either of them know that this friend would later become his brother-in-law. At the age of 21 John left the military, where he was trained in accounting, & worked for several years as a law librarian for Lowenstein, Sandler. Perhaps one of the most profound moments in John's life was in the late spring/early summer of 1974. It was then that one of his father's coworkers introduced him to Bible truths he had never known, such as God's personal name being Jehovah. But John, being the detail-oriented person he was, was not satisfied after being shown just a few scriptures. He decided to satisfy his curiosity by starting a diligent study of the Bible. It was this deep Bible study and newfound relationship with Jehovah that moved John to make many positive changes in his life. On August 19, 1977, after being full convinced of these Bible truths John was baptized. This came to be one of the accomplishments he was most proud of in his life. Just a few short years later he began another life changing relationship when he met Wanda, later to become his wife. On January 17, 1981, John & Wanda were married. Three years later John & Wanda celebrated their anniversary 10 days early in quite a unique way. It was then, on January 7, 1984, that their daughter Joanna was born & although many years would have to pass, John was finally blessed to have a son when Joanna married Bryan on March 9, 2007. John is survived by a loving family including brother Joe (Maryann), niece Allison (Tony), nephew Joey, & niece Jennifer; sister Cindy (Carlos Sr.), nephew Carlos Jr. (Melissa), nephew Chris, & niece Catia; brother-in-law Raul (Yariela) & family; sister-in-law Sandra (Bill); sister-in-law Aida (Rafy) sister-in-law Migdalia & family; and over 20 great-nieces and great-nephews. Friends will be received Saturday 5-9PM at the Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Home, 425 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst. Private cremation. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to the Worldwide Work of Jehovah's Witnesses at www.jw.org. Send condolences to stellatofuneralhomes.com.