Obituary: John Peter Giampia

John Peter Giampia, 74, of Seminole, FL passed away suddenly on December 19, 2021. John was born on July 7, 1947 to the late John and Beatrice (Rocha) Giampia in Tampa, FL. He had two wonderful daughters, Stephanie Gomez and husband, Mauricio of Rye, NY, Dana Vargas and husband, Rob of Theills, NY. John was the cherished grandfather to Gabriella Gomez, Alexis Ader and Kayla Vargas and great grandfather to Joseph Somereve.

He was also the loving brother of Tom (Sharon), Maria Giampia-Macchio (Joe), sister-in-law Judy Giampia and pre-deceased by brothers Bobby and Frank. He will be especially missed by his many nieces and nephews, Robert Giampia, Jr., Victoria Giampia, Gregory Giampia, Amanda Martinez (Gabe), Jonathan Giampia, Nicholas Giampia, Nick Macchio, Gianna Giampia, Alexa Sabatini (Danny) and Marc Giampia (Brianna) and great nieces and nephews, Jessica Giampia, Paige Giampia, Leia Garrette, Aiden Garrette, Abigail Martinez and Mason Martinez.

John was drafted into the Army at the age of 20 to serve in the Vietnam War where he was a Dog Handler in the K9 - 1st Calvary Division. His beloved dog's name was Baron. Baron saved his (and many others) lives on many occasions. Until very recent years, he rarely spoke of his heroic and difficult experience in Vietnam. John remained active in many Vietnam Veteran groups including the Vietnam Dog Handler Association where he was the Unit Director of the 37th Infantry Platoon Scout Dogs (IPSD).

John retired from the USPS in 2003 after 38 years of service. He was the Plant Manager for the Remote Encoding Center for the Mid-Hudson Region where he oversaw a staff of 2200 employees. He was very modest and never really led on about how successful he truly was.

John was an avid sportsman. He loved softball, bowling, fishing, hunting, and in most recent years golf which was a passion of his to say the least! John was a member to the Seminole Golf Club in Florida which became his second home. His fellow members of the club became his second family. It has been said that John was "The Heart of the Club".

John was one of the most selfless and generous people. He took care of many friends and family members when in need and boy did he give the greatest advice! He never ever asked for help, even when he may have truly needed it himself.

John enjoyed life, lived simply, and was loved by so many. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him throughout his life.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John's memory may be made to the following organizations with the sincere and heartfelt thanks of his family:

Vietnam Dog Handler Association - https://www.vdha.us/content23783.html

Wounded Warrior Project - http://alturl.com/cauox
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From: Stephanie Giampia <stephgia74@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2022 7:22 PM
To: Deaths@VDHA.us
Subject: Fwd: VDHA Online Contact

Hello,

Please see the thread below for your information. I apologize for not seeing this email address until now to make proper notification to your organization.

Best,

Steph Giampia-Gomez

Thank you so much for your kind words. My dad absolutely loved the work he was doing with your organization.

Could you kindly let me know as things are posted on your website and social media pages?  I’d love to see the messages. 

Here is the obituary link:  http://alturl.com/u569g

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On Jan 10, 2022, at 2:30 PM, Ernie Ayala <ayalak9alum9@gmail.com> wrote:



Thank you, Stephanie, for notifying us about the passing of your beloved Dad, John Giampia. I will pass this on to our Webmaster and our Facebook page as well as our newsletter, “Dogman”. 

You have our deepest sympathy on your loss.  Any chance we can get an obituary and a photo of your dad? That would mean so much to the guys that knew him. Sincerely, Ernie.

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On Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 9:44 AM <stephgia74@gmail.com> wrote:

Form ID:    125579Contact :  ayalak9alum9@gmail.comName :    Stephanie Gomez
Email :    stephgia74@gmail.com
Message :  

Hello,

I am very sorry to be contacting you with this absolutely heartbreaking news. My dad, John Giampia unit director for the 37th Infantry Platoon Scout Dogs has passed away.  I am absolutely devastated by this tremendous loss.

I knew how passionate he was about being part of the Dog Handler’s Association and wanted you all to know. I have listed this organization for folks to make donations to in his name. We are also holding a golf outing in his name on Feb. 5th where donations will be also collected for this organization as well.

Please share this information with others from the VDHA.

Thank you.

Address :    135 Maple Avenue
City :    Rye
State :    NY
Zip :    10580
Country :    US
Phone :    (914) 497-4333

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I currently live on the west coast of Florida and am retired from the postal service since 2005.   I posted almost all the photos that are on the picture gallery for the 37th IPSD.   My attempt to organize a re-union in 2009 failed miserably, only 2 responses out of 30+ attempts to e-mails and letters sent.  I know that my contact info was very old and these things change all the time. Updated info on anyone you know and yourself would be appreciated, thanks.