John Louis Lorenzo, 87, of Southbury died November 15. He was born July 15, 1930, in Bridgeport, the son of the late Mildred "Honey" (Drew) and Louis "Ono" Lorenzo.

Mr Lorenzo was a graduate of Newtown High School, where he briefly dated his current wife, Joyce Bancroft-Billings Bond.

He proudly served in the United States Army during the Korean War and swam for the Army team. Upon his return, he joined his father working at Lorenzo's Pizza by the shores of Lake Zoar. During this time, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Bridgeport. He worked for Pitney Bowes for much of his life, where he acquired 16 patents; his most successful patent was a computer-based timing device that is widely used to this day.

After Mr Lorenzo's retirement, he and Joyce enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad, frequenting Elderhostels and spending many winters in Dunnellon, Fla.

Mr Lorenzo had a lifelong passion for water skiing, which he continued to enjoy to the ripe age of 86, and which he shared with his children and grandchildren. He proudly opened his lakefront home to the Leaps of Faith and Wounded Warrior Foundations for many years, as well as numerous foreign exchange students.

He was the founder of the Lake Lillinonah Lake Police and an active member of the Lake Authority for many years. An inventive and creative person, he attended SUNY's Creative Problem Solving Institute for many years. Mr Lorenzo had a passion for wine making, raising his own vines for many years and engaging in constant battle with the Canada geese to protect them. He was a proponent of the legalization of marijuana and spoke on this topic at the Connecticut State Capitol at the age of 81.

In addition to his wife, Joyce, his loving daughters from his first marriage, Gwen Chabot and son-in-law Tom, Debbie DeSilva, and Cheryl Lorenzo; loving daughter from his second marriage, Joy Lorenzo Kennedy; sisters, Sally Magda and Jeannie Loren; grandchildren, Sasha DeSilva, Anthony and Joseph Sadowski, Loren Zoe, and Griffin Kennedy; stepchildren, Greg Bond and wife Jean, Jonathan Bond and wife Donna, and Jennifer Bond Knecht and husband Tom; 13 step-grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren survive him.

His daughter Joan and stepson Wayne predeceased him.

A life well-loved and well-lived will be celebrated on Sunday, December 3. Friends are invited to attend calling hours from 10 am to noon at Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, followed by a remembrance celebration at Lorenzo's Restaurant in Sandy Hook from noon to 4 pm with a candle-lighting celebration at the lake at sunset.

In lieu of flowers, the family gratefully requests donations to two causes near and dear to Mr Lorenzo's heart: Leaps of Faith Adaptive Skiers at lofadaptiveskiers.org or to the Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org.

To leave an online condolence, visit honanfh.com.