John Ralph Lorenz, 94 passed away in Tampa, FL 10/14/2018. John was born on 10/15/1923 in Cleveland, OH. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife Ermine Emily, son; William J. Lorenz, Grandson; William Lorenz, & Daughter in-law; Deborah Kay Lorenz. John is survived by one daughter; Phyllis Lebeda (Alan), one son; John Lorenz (Denise), & daughter in-law Linda Lorenz. He is survived by six grandchildren; Debbie Shanks (Dennis), Sean Forsyth (Traci), Shane Forsyth, Amy Odom (Mark), & Heather Fuller (Paul). He is survived by seven great-grandchildren; Amber Dover, Courtnie Weeks, Hope Fields, Tristan Odom, Taylor Odom, Donovan Fuller, & Lola Fuller. He is also survived by eight great-great grandchildren. He bravely served our country in the United States Army during World War II. He was in the infantry from May 1943 to January 1946. He even fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and then was later stationed in the beautiful city of Paris, France. John was proud of his dedicated service to his Country. Professionally John was an accomplished auto parts salesman for nearly 50 years. His career allowed him to connect with many people all over the state of Florida, and some of those connections were cherished life-long friendships. Ermine was the love of John's life, and they had a dream together to one day have a home in the mountains. That dream became a reality around 1984 when they purchased property in Franklin, North Carolina. Over the course of 12 years John, Ermine, their family, and friends made many trips from Tampa to North Carolina. It took 12 years of hard work, and dedication, but they accomplished the goal of building their dream house in the mountains. When John retired at the age of 72 he moved to that dream home, and lived there for 20 years. Over the last couple of years he lived in Tampa with his beloved family. John was a great & loving Father, as well as a devoted husband. He loved going to the beach, the lake, having picnics, high school football games, building on that dream home, working on the cars, and going fishing with his sons. Anything the family wanted to do John was onboard to do with them. He had a supportive, caring, and helpful role in the lives of his beloved family & friends. He was always there with guidance, and advise whenever anyone needed it. John truly was an exceptional example of a good Son, Husband, Father, Grandfather, & Friend. John was dearly loved, and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
A visitation will be held, Oct. 20, 12-12:30 pm, followed by a funeral service at 12:30 pm and graveside service and honors 1:30 pm. Services are entrusted with Blount & Curry Funeral Home at Garden of Memories & Garden of Memories Cemetery, 4207 E. Lake Ave., Tampa, FL 33610. TBT.COM