John Carlos Santos was born on September 10, 1936 in Murtosa, Portugal. He was the oldest of two brothers born to Antonio and Maria. He passed away peacefully on December 5, 2021 after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.
John emigrated to the United States at age 11 and was a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Athletically, he became the first All-American soccer player in FDU history. He still holds two NCAA men’s soccer records: saves in a game and saves per game in a season. In 1960, he was drafted into the Army where he proudly served his beloved country. After graduation and his service he went to work for Nabisco, then spent the rest of his long career as an executive at AT&T Bell Laboratories until his retirement in 1994.
John is survived by his wife of 58 years, Felicidade, his three sons and daughters-in-law: John and Jacqueline, Dave and Roberta, Ken and Cristina, and his beloved 11 grandchildren, Natalie, John III, Graydon, Brooke, Benjamin, Riley, Jack, Antonio, Victoria, Cristian, and Tea. Also surviving is his brother Anthony and sister-in-law Alcina, and his sister-in-law Eliza and brother-in-law Rick DiOrio. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends and family members. Pop Pop, as he was known, was a great husband, dad, grandfather, son-in-law, uncle, nephew, coach, fan, and friend and will be greatly missed by many.
Visitation will take place on Friday, December 10 from 3-7 pm at the Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad Street, Red Bank, NJ. A Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, December 11 at 10 am at the Church of the Nativity, 180 Ridge Road, Fair Haven, NJ. Burial is private.
To honor John’s legacy, please take the time to go watch your grandchildren, children, nieces, nephews, or neighbor's children play a sport and cheer them on just like Pop Pop would.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
