John Stanley Maliskas, age 86, was born on February 5, 1938 and went to Heaven on June 7, 2024. He is under the care of Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home.
John died peacefully at the Silver Leaf Assisted Living and Memory Care facility in Allen, Texas with 2 of his children, Aaron and Gina, at his side.
John was born on February 5, 1938 in Danville, Illinois to John and Ann Maliskas. He was the oldest of three children. His family lived in Westville, Illinois and during high school he met and later married Mary Lou Corman.
They were married for 62 years and together raised 6 children. John and Mary Lou have 15 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
John was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou; son, Andrew Maliskas: son-in-law, Eric Baldwin; brother-in-law, Ron Hardgrove, and nephew Nick Hardgrove.
He is survived by his sister, Loretta Hardgrove (Ron), and brother, Andrew Maliskas (Torrie); daughters, Kim Ainsworth (Steven), Gina Waters (William), Jill Ryan (Matthew), Gwen Baldwin (Eric), and son Aaron Maliskas (Alanda).
John, also known as JR, Dukas, and Poppy, had a big personality and loved to surround himself with family and friends. All his children and grandchildren have so many happy memories of spending time with him laughing on the beach, at sporting events, etc. He was always there to support and let us know just how proud he was of each and every one of us.
John attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a degree in Industrial Design. His career started at Cessna aircraft, designing the plane striping on the exterior of the plane. He went on to work at General Electric as an industrial designer and then at Timex as Director of Design. He later created his own design firm, JM Industrial Design, where he worked until his retirement.
John would tell you that his greatest accomplishment was his strong family. He and Mary Lou created a loving, safe, God centered home, which helped cultivate the strong family bond they had.
He served in his church for over 40 years in many different ways, including leading small groups. He loved his family and God with all his heart. He will be dearly missed.
A celebration of life ceremony will be held in September in McKinney, Texas.