John Stroup

John S. Stroup 89, of Sun City West, AZ. passed away peacefully on May 3, 2015. As a member of the "Greatest Generation", a proud navy veteran and former POW, he was an exceptional man that never considered himself a hero, never discussed his participation in WWII, but would proudly discuss anything on the history of the United States which he knew volumes about; he only humbly referred to himself as doing his duty to his country. God came first in his life, then family, then the United States of America, of which he was proud to be a member. John was blessed by two loves in his life. The first was when he married Natalie Cerame Stroup; the second was Kathleen (Olson) Sikora. John Stroup is survived by his children, J. Michael Stroup, Alyson (Michael) Dew and Barbara (Andrew) Cichelli, the second love of his life, Kathleen and her children, Janet (Kevin) Sikora-Lerch, Ingrid (Doug) Klingenberg, Stephanie Sikora, Tracy (Kevin) Houser, his sister, Betty Stopay,mother-in-law, Theresa Olson, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and one great grandchild. He is preceded in death by his first wife Natalie and his mother, Betty Kennedy. Because of John's deep love for family, there was no reference to "step-children" as he loved them all and they in return loved him deeply. His funeral Mass will be May 13, 2015 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City West at 9:30 a.m., followed by a well-deserved final salute and and military burial at the National Memorial Cemetery at 12:30.