John F. Provan III


Date of birth: 08/19/1925
Date of death: 10/29/2010
Visitation Hours: 7-9 pm Monday at Fiore Funeral Home, 236 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst
Service Time:
Cemetery: Brig Gen WC Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arneytown, NJ
Funeral Home: Oakhurst
- John Forrester Provan III, 85, passed away peacefully Friday, October 29, 2010 at the Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune. He was pre-deceased by his wife Kitty of 39 years and his son John F. Provan IV. He leaves his two daughters & their husbands; Karen E. Basso & John of Wanamassa; Janet F. Canedo and Edgar Miguel of Neptune; Tara Bove, grandaughter; Michael Provan, grandson; Chelsea-Rain Bove, great granddaughter; Sage Bove, great grandson; Ruth Cumpston, sister and many other beloved relatives, friends and neighbors.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, the son of John Dale Provan and Ruth McIlveen, he left to join the U.S. Navy in 1943 where he and his brother Joseph enlisted to serve their country during World War II. John's tour of duty lasted from 1943 to 1948 where he started as an apprentice Seaman in Pittsburgh then rose in rank to Seaman first class and Radioman first class. He was stationed in the South Pacific where he witnessed the Nuclear Tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. John re-enlisted in 1945 as Seaman first class at the US Naval Base Subic Bay, Phillipines. On his second tour of duty John served on the USS Bayfield APA-33 where they left San Diego in 1947 to Tsing Pau, China then on to Shanghai. John played on the USS Bayfield football team in Shanghai and on Dec 7, 1947 (the 6th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day) beat the Shanghai Champions 9 to 0 by a fieldgoal. During World War II John lost his only brother Joe. John retired from the Navy in 1948 where he continued his career with the U.S. Department of Defense at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. Throughout his civilian engineering career of 37 years, he traveled throughout the U.S. and Korea. John was an avid Ham Radio operator and volunteered for 2 years during Operation Desert Shield to dispatch calls from the Ft. Monmouth Radio Station for troops in Iraq to their families in the U.S.
John married the love of his life, Kathryn (Kitty) in 1950 in Pittsburgh, PA. Shortly after, they moved to the Jersey shore & started a family. John and Kitty enjoyed traveling and taking road trips to Pittsburgh to visit relatives. His favorite city was Rome & he spoke fluent Italian. In his early years, John enjoyed acting, writing screenplays, playing golf, bowling and coaching Ocean Township Pop Warner Football throughout the 1970's. Later in life John enjoyed his memberships to the Italian-American Club of Ocean and the Sons of Italy in Asbury Park.
A memorial service will be held at Fiore Funeral Home, 236 Monmouth Rd., Oakhurst, NJ on Monday, November 1, 2010 from 7pm - 9pm. Interment will take place at 11 am on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetary Chapel, 350 Province Line Rd, Wrightstown, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Disabled American Veterans will be appreciated & may be sent to: Disabled American Veterans P.O. Box 14301. Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.