John J. Sikora

John Joseph Sikora was born July 26, 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri to Antoni Boleslaus Sikora and Stella Genevieve Szewezyk, Polish immigrants. John was the third of eleven children. He grew up on 17th Street in downtown St. Louis during the Great Depression. As a young boy, he was hit by a passing car while playing in the street which lead to one of his legs and feet being slightly smaller than the other. John was always thrifty and good at earning and saving money. As a youth, he enjoyed selling newspapers on the streets of St. Louis.  He was also a devout Catholic from the time he was a young man and faithfully served as an alter boy in his local parish and attended parochial school.

John was close to his older brother, Tony. When WWII broke out, Tony was drafted into the Army. Although John was a few years younger, he was eager to serve. Not wanting to get drafted by the Army, John decided to enlist in the Navy when he was 17. To do so, he needed the permission of a parent which he got from his father. On the day he left, he had not told his mother and simply went up to her after church services, kissed her on the cheek, and said he’d see her later. According to his sisters, John’s mother was very angry with her husband for quite some time for giving permission for her beloved “Janek” to go off to war. John loved the Navy and was a proud Veteran his entire life. After being sent to the University of Wisconsin for some advanced education, John served on the USS Mendocino in the Pacific. His ship was in the same fleet with General McCarthy when Japan surrendered to the United States.

After the war, John returned to St. Louis and worked as a bartender at the Casa Loma Ballroom where he enjoyed his friends and his love of big band and polka music. His friends called him “The Shiek” because he was a nice dresser and had a fondness for gold rings and watches. John met his future wife, Mary Ann, at the wedding of her brother Isidro to John’s sister Hattie in St. Louis. They were married October 29th, 1949, and honeymooned in El Paso, Texas. Soon after, John was called back into the Navy. Mary Ann lived with his family in St. Louis for a few months while he completed training before the two of them went to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was stationed. When his commitment to the Navy was over, they decided to move back to New Mexico and settle in Albuquerque. Johnny worked as an auto parts clerk and a jewelry salesman before becoming a production quality control manager for ACF Industries. In 1959, John and Mary Ann celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Hawaii.

John was a proud husband and father. He bought their first house on Kimo Drive in 1960 where they lived for five years. After several years of trying unsuccessfully to have children, John and Mary Ann were blessed with a baby boy, Leon Anthony, in 1961. In 1966, Johnny convinced Mary Ann to move to a new home being built on the edge of town near Louisiana and Candelaria. Mary Ann agreed although she was worried about how they would afford the $35,000 house with a monthly payment of over $100! In 1963, Mary Ann became very ill after being diagnosed with a rare disease. This was a very difficult time for Johnny. He sent Leon to St. Louis to live with his parents and two youngest sisters while he cared for Mary Ann. After she recovered, she was told she would never be able to have any more children, but in 1966 they were blessed with another son, John Joseph Jr.

John was a proud man who loved his St. Louis Cardinals, his cars, and all things Polish. His pride and joy was his 1966 Mercury Cougar. Although he was an older father, he did a good job of keeping up with his very active sports-loving sons. He was a devoted fan at their games and enjoyed playing racquetball with them at the sports clubs on weekends. He loved to plan vacations and take his family on long road trips. Over the years, John drove his family from Albuquerque to Disney Land, Disney World, the World’s Fair in Knoxville Tennessee, Calgary Canada, and everywhere in between along with making regular trips to St. Louis. After giving up his post-WWII industrial career at ACF and General Electric, John decided to take his career in a different direction. In 1975, John accepted an offer from his neighbor, Larry Rainosek, to manage one of his Golden Pride restaurants which he did for a few years before being lured away by one of his suppliers, George’s (later Highlander’s) to sell meat to other restaurants where he was very successful and befriended many restraunteers throughout Albuquerque and was well-known, especially in the Greek and Chinese restaurant communities. After retiring in 1986 John lived a quiet life with Mary Ann in his beloved home on Indiana Street where he liked to read, watch movies, play video poker, and entertain his children and grandchildren. Due to advancing illness, John moved into an assisted living home in July 2011. On November 17, 2012, he lost Mary Ann unexpectedly. He passed away peacefully on March 17th, 2015 at the age of 92. He is survived by his sons Leon and John Jr. and their wives Jennifer and Dee Dee, respectfully; six grandchildren and 5 great-grand children (Jordan Sikora, his wife Hannah, and daughter, Morgan; Lauren Hargrove, her husband Derek, and their children Titan and Claire; Sheridan Hargrove, her husband Garrett, and their children Sawyer and Hudson; Colin Sikora; Brooke Sikora, and Bianca Sikora). He is also survived by his siblings Hattie Gazolas, Theresa Rath, Jean Adams, Helen Kiepeszczuk, Dorothy Barron, and Irene Biggins and her husband Jim and their families; sister-in-law Virginia Dalesandro; brother-in-law Alex Gazolas and his wife Marcella; and numerous nieces and nephews including Anita Gazolas Karler and husband Phil Karler; John Gazolas, his wife Liz, and their children Shawn and Reyna; Joan Archibeque, her husband Norbert and children Cory and Nathan; Julie Garcia, her husband Toby and children Stephanie and Ryan; and Janna Taylor and her children Ashland, Colton, and Luke.