John Jankura, 59, of Stratford, passed away on February 25, 2024.

John Jankura, 59, of Stratford, passed away unexpectedly on February 25, 2024. Born on April 11, 1964, in Bridgeport, CT, he was the son of the late Richard and Nancy (Rader) Jankura.

John was raised in Milford and was proudly one of the legendary children of the Castle Lane neighborhood in the 70’s and early 80’s. A 1982 graduate of Foran High School, he worked for many years at Howard Johnson’s and SNET where many cherished friendships were formed. All who encountered John would be greeted with a big smile, a warm hello, and a funny story.

John stepped up the expectations of what it is to be an uncle and proved to be the best anyone could ask for. He loved being a part of his nieces and nephews’ activities, whether it was as their baseball coach, biggest fan at a dance performance, supporting them at daily life events, enjoying dinner with them, or simply having fun teaching them his uncle shenanigans. His nieces and nephews were very close to John and miss him dearly.

John was an avid softball player in Milford, Stratford, and Bridgeport for many years, as well as coaching the Stratford United Methodist team to championships in the Tuesday night Bridgeport Inter-Church League. But what he cherished most was the chance to play alongside his lifelong friends, especially John Antonini, and the Smith brothers, Mike and Bill. One of his favorite annual traditions was participating in the infamous Thanksgiving morning Toilet Bowl football game coordinated and sponsored by the Smith brothers.

An enthusiastic sports fan, John truly enjoyed attending baseball games at Yankee Stadium with his brother Michael, brother-in-law Christian, nephews, and friends. John also had a knack of knowing when to show up at Jill’s house for warm homemade chocolate chip cookies (Mercie’s recipe), raisin bread (Gram’s recipe), and Jill’s delicious dinners with to-go containers in hand.

A self-taught automobile mechanic, he enjoyed fixing his BMWs, detailing them for car shows, and joining his friends at the racetrack and BMW Car Club events across the country, particularly Autocross and the annual BMW Oktoberfest.

John is survived by his siblings, Jill (Christian) Bilcheck, and Mike Jankura; nieces and nephews, Nicholas (Rebecca Taylor), Zachary, and Katerina Bilcheck, Matthew and Emily Jankura; several aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family members and countless friends. In addition to his parents, John was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Henry and Olga (Leson) Rader, and paternal grandparents, John and Margaret (Fedorko) Jankura.

It gives us comfort envisioning John warmly greeted with sloppy kisses by his Standard Schnauzer fur babies, Thurman and Desmond, along with Cammie, Miles, and Davis.

Friends and family may call on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, from 5pm to 8pm at the CODY-WHITE FUNERAL HOME, 107 BROAD ST., MILFORD, CT. A Remembrance Gathering will begin at 7:00pm. A private interment will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the BMW Car Club of America Foundation in support of their “Street Survival” teen driving school program at www.bmwccafoundation.org/support-the-foundation/donate. To leave online condolences, please visit our website at www.codywhitefuneralservice.com.