John Joseph Golias, 79, of the Villages Florida, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 5th, 2026, in the ICU at Shands Hospital, FL, after an aggressive battle with advanced Multiple Myeloma Cancer. John was born November 19, 1947, in Stratford, CT, and was the son of the late Joseph and Anna Golias. John had a sister, Marlene Duda who is pre-deceased, February 2017. John was an amazing husband, father and friend to all. Especially his close friends in the Villages and the lasting friendships from his 38 years at United Technologies and Pratt & Whitney as a Mechanical Engineer. He loved his work on the JT9D jet engine fan blades. His unique expertise allowed him the opportunity to give lectures, inspect parts, and even received an official U.S. Patent for a fan blade repair. He enjoyed meeting new people at various P&W facilities throughout the United States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Singapore and multiple European countries. His friendly demeanor and natural ability to make valuable connections lead to a life full of close friends. These friendships lasted for many years and spanned across many different interests, including John’s love for restoring, selling, buying, and owning all types of muscle cars. Out of all the many muscle cars throughout his lifetime, he loved restoring and driving his 1967 Corvette aka “animal” the most. Whether he was headed to a car show or cruise night, you would always find a big smile on his face as he drove by, always excited to tell the latest work he was doing to the car. However, what was the absolute most important thing in life to John was spending quality time with family. He enjoyed making memories at holiday events, birthdays, and school graduation celebrations. Every year, he and his wife Brenda would make multiple trips to CT to participate in all types of milestone events with their grandchildren. Whether it was a dance recital, horse show, softball, cheer or looking over the latest artwork, he absolutely loved spending quality time and being a part of his grandchildren’s lives and watching them grow up throughout the years. Besides his love of family, he had a passion for seeing the world and taking lots of vacations with his vast circle of friends who lived nearby or who were in the Villages Corvette club. Every Saturday, you would find him eating bagels and enjoying company with friends at local breakfast spots. John will forever be remembered as a happy, and compassionate soul who loved his family and friends. He was always right there to lend a hand to anyone in need, and his heart knew no bounds. John is survived by his wife Brenda Golias; his son Joseph and wife Kimberly Golias, his daughter Kelly and husband Erik Boerenko, his stepdaughter Christine and her husband Nicholas Lentocha, and many grandchildren, Alexis, Ariana, Jordan, Kylie, Kailyn, Camryn, and Adalynn. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Celebration of Life:

Please join our family as we celebrate John's beautiful life and the love he shared so generously with everyone who knew him. John touched so many lives with his kindness, humor, and spirit. We’ll be sharing memories, displaying photos from throughout his life, and celebrating the person who meant everything to us. In honor of John we will be having his favorite "home cooked" meal. - Pizza and wings.

Celebration of Life to be held at:

The Marlborough Tavern

March 8, 12:00 - 2:00 pm