- Date Of Birth: March 20, 1930
- Date Of Death: December 2, 2016
- State: Florida
John Joseph Soukup, age 86, passed away peacefully at his home in Cocoa Beach Florida on December 2, 2016. John is preceded in death by his parents, John and Catherine Soukup, his wife of 60 years, Elsa, along with his eldest son Jimmy.
John was born March 20, 1930 in East Islip, New York. During his childhood he was a Ham Radio Operator and he acquired the love of airplanes. In 1950 he earned a degree in Aircraft Instrument Engineering.
John’s sister Mary introduced him to his future wife Elsa. They were married in 1955.
John moved his wife and infant son to sunny Florida where he worked on the Navy fleet ballistics program, starting when the Lockheed / Navy facility opened in 1957. “As far as we know it is the longest continually running program in existence at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station”, Soukup said. “Through the years we developed the Polaris, Poseidon and Trident submarine missiles and were responsible for their assembly and launching.”John retired from Lockheed in 1992 after an eventful 35 years as a Systems Test Engineer Specialist.
While his three boys were growing up John volunteered his time with the Boy Scouts of America as Assistant Scout Master of pack 328. John was very active with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and spent many Saturdays at the Merritt Island Airport with flying buddies after retirement.
To keep his mind sharp after retirement John started his own business in repairing aging airplane instruments for anyone in need of his talent.
John is survived by his sister Mary Chamier, sons Thomas and Stephen Soukup; daughters, Annmarie (Anthony) Mancusi and Susan (Henry) Thibodeau; three granddaughters, Catherine, Christine, and Abigail; and one great granddaughter, Alexandra.
DEC 16.
