Who We Are:

John J. Sparacio

John Joseph Sparacio was born in New York City on September 4, 1925.  His parents were Thomas Sparacio and Rose Ribando.  His parents came to America as pre-teen immigrants from Sicily.  John was the first of two sons.  His younger brother Frank came along three years later and both grew up with an older “sister” Mary, who was actually their cousin, six years older than John.  John lived with his family in the Bronx until he was five years old, and then they moved to North Bergen, New Jersey, where he spent the majority of his adult life.

The family did not have much money, and since his mother was often ill, he learned early to work hard and fend for himself.  He and his brother Frank, learned to cook, shop, and do chores around the house.  In spite of these obligations, John knew education was important, and he graduated from Clifford Park High School in 1943 with top honors.  He excelled in math and writing skills. However the start of America’s involvement in World War II, changed his trajectory.  At the age of 19, John entered the US infantry and was shipped to Germany in March of 1945, where he served as a member of the 86th Blackhawk Division.  When Germany surrendered in May of 1945, John’s infantry division was sent to the Philippines to train for the US invasion of Japan, but Japan surrendered before the invasion became necessary, and John returned to New Jersey.  John felt fortunate to have completed his military service without being physically wounded, however the war impacted him mentally, and he never desired to speak of his war experiences or to ever travel to Europe again.

Upon John’s return to New Jersey, he enrolled at Pace College, today known as Pace University,  on the GI bill.  He studied accounting and he passed his CPA examination on his first try.  As a new CPA, his accounting career started in Farmington, Connecticut at Hill-Stead Museum, as well as working for the elite girl’s school, Miss Porter’s. Later jobs took him to financial positions as treasurer, controller, and vice president of the companies La Touraine Specialty Tea and Coffee Company and Greenwich Mills Coffee Company.  In the mid 1980’s, these two companies were purchased by Chock Full o'Nuts, and John ended his career here.  After his retirement in the late 80’s, he purchased a second home in Sarasota, Florida, to be near his brother Frank.  He frequently traveled back and forth between New Jersey and Florida over the years.  John passed away in New York on June 26, 2013.

John believed education and learning was important and one of the books he read was “A People’s History” by Howard Zinn.  The book impacted his thinking on the imbalance of power in the world and how those closest to the "issues" were really the ones who should speak on the "issues."  A quote from the book illustrated this: “The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.”  Howard Zinn's book impacted him significantly on social justice and contributed to him creating his foundation to support and strengthen underrepresented voices.