‘This is a big loss for West Hempstead’

John Francis Terrasi, a longtime West Hempstead resident and a veteran of World War II, died on May 30 after suffering a stroke. He was 87. Terrasi died just two days after serving as one of the grand marshals in this year’s West Hempstead Memorial Day parade.

Terrasi, known to some as Big John, was born on Feb. 19, 1925, in Brooklyn, 17 years after his parents emigrated from Sicily. He lived in Brooklyn until he was a teenager, relatives said, when his family lost their home near the end of the Great Depression, and moved to Lindenhurst.

John graduated from Metropolitan Technical High School in Manhattan, according to family members, and served in the Navy during and after World War II, from 1943 to 1946. He served on a destroyer that escorted large convoys across the Atlantic Ocean in preparation for the invasion of Europe in 1944.

In 1947, at age 22, Terrasi married Ruth Sofnes, and the couple settled in Ozone Park, Queens. In 1951 they moved to West Hempstead, where John spent the rest of his life, becoming an active member of the community, a caring, supportive and dedicated resident who helped those in need, according to relatives.

He had a successful career as a master carpenter, and he and Ruth had three children, Diane, John Jr. and Daniel. “He operated his own business, Linden Contracting, for 35 years,” said Daniel Terrasi, 56, of Manhattan. “He ran the business out of his home. He built houses across Long Island.”

Daniel said that his father was in great health for the Memorial Day parade, and that friends and family were shocked by his sudden death. “Everyone couldn’t believe it,” he said.

He noted that even after his mother’s death in July 2010, his father remained an active member of the community. He was a member of the VFW Garden City South West Hempstead Post No. 325 for more than 40 years, and volunteered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, often as an usher. “He was very active,” Daniel said, noting that his father touched the lives of many in the community. “He lifted the spirits of those around him. He was a person who, when you talked to him, you always came away feeling better than before.”