Obituary of John Sanderson

John V. Sanderson was born at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on July 24,1926. His family home was on 64th street off Queens Blvd. in Woodside, NY. John attended P.S. 78 and Bryant High School. Drafted into the army on his 18th birthday in 1944, his service in Germany, in addition to patrols and guard duty, included a brief period as personal aide to then Colonel Westmoreland. John was a member of the U.S. Army Baseball team in 1945 which beat the Air Force team to win a championship. He loved baseball, having been introduced to it as a very young child by his Uncle, Hugh Selzer, a right fielder for the minor league team, the Elmhurst Greys. He remembered meeting The Babe as a boy and was personal friends with many professional stars, including Carl Scheib and Bobby Morgan. After returning from Germany, John studied Electrical Engineering at Manhattan College. His graduation ceremony was on June 10,1951, after which John proceeded to St. Theresa’s Church in Woodside where he married his beloved wife, Francesca Baietto, whom he had met while delivering her mail as a temporary U.S. Postman. John worked as an electrical engineer for 18 years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, contributing to the development of early computerized navigation in nuclear submarines, while becoming a father to his four children, John, Mary Katherine, Ellen and Barbara. Meanwhile he was also attending Fordham Law School in the evenings where he earned his J.D. degree in 1960. John worked in the Science Lab at the Navy Yard and he went to Washington to argue with the Secretary of the Navy, John Chafee, against its closure. He turned down a transfer to San Diego to stay in his native New York City! John and Francesca lived with their children in Sunnyside, Queens where the children attended Queen of Angels School. John served terms as head of the Queen of Angels Athletic Association as well as a term as president of the Parish Council. After the Science Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard was closed in 1967, John was recruited by Mayor Lindsay for the City of New York’s neighborhood outreach program in the Parks Department. He worked in the Bronx as one of the first neighborhood managers under Mayor Lindsay in an experimental program in decentralized city government. One of his favorite accomplishments was helping to set up and actually name a city park that borders on the Bronx River, Shoelace Park. John also worked for the Federal Department of Energy and afterwards became a private consultant with Giordano Associates, located in Sparta, NJ specializing in defense contracts. In 1986, John and Francesca moved to Sparta to be close to his office. While there they became grandparents many times over. Their favorite times were spent with the grandchildren and participating in their adventures. After Francesca’s passing, John remained in Sparta until his health required him to move to St. Francis Residential Community in Denville, NJ. While living there, John became a great-grandfather! Large, happy family gatherings, parties, and eating out were what he lived for. He was looking forward to doing these again after the COVID pandemic, and was doing his best to stay the course. Sadly, it was not to be and John succumbed to death this past Friday, January 15, 2021. He died peacefully in his sleep. His beloved family will miss him on his 95th birthday this summer when, hopefully, we can be together again. Visitation will be private. A graveside service and Military Honors will be held 12:00 pm on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, NY. .