John Novak

John J. Novak died peacefully on December 22, after a brief bout with pneumonia and influenza. He was born in Hibbing, Minnesota on January 7, 1921 to Joseph and Mary Novak.  He graduated from Hibbing High School and served in the U.S. Army’s 719th Railroad Battalion during World War II, where he was stationed in North Africa and Italy. Early in his tour he contracted meningitis but recovered without side effects, a miracle he attributed to his three older sisters saying novenas for him every day of his illness. After the war, John resumed work at U. S. Steel, learned the welding trade and eventually became a supervisor until he retired in 1980. In 1948, he married Jennie Antonelli, a secretary under General Eisenhower, who had returned to Hibbing to recover from a surgery. He bought her a drink at the VFW and the rest became history. They were married for 53 years until Jennie’s death in 2001.

All his life Johnny loved a good time, a good sport and good friends. He was an avid fisherman, golfer, curler and hunter. He played bocce all his life and followed competitive sports at every level. In his later years, he reclaimed his love of dancing and music. He could close his eyes and feel the rhythm, tap his foot and be happy. He never lost his moves on the dance floor. He also never lost his love of a good tease, a funny line or an unexpected laugh, and he made friends wherever he went. He spent his last years away from his beloved Iron Range, making a new life at The Waters On 50th in Minneapolis, where he again found great friendships, new dance partners and many good times.

Besides his wife, John was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters (Mary Sherman, Anna Marshall, Katie Stone, Helen Kilander) and four brothers (Steve, Nick, Charlie, George) and almost all his lifetime friends. He is survived by his daughter Kathleen (Michael Niedenfuehr), his son Richard and four grandchildren, Jenny Niedenfuehr, Zachary Novak, Theodore Novak and Oliver Novak, as well as his sisters-in-law, Amelia Novak and Catherine Novak, and many nieces and nephews. He lived well for a long time and leaves a legacy of good will and great resilience.

Funeral services will be held on Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 at 11 a.m. in the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hibbing.  Visitation will be in the church on Wed. from 10 a.m. until service time.  Burial will be in the Maple Hill Cemetery.