John Petersen was born on November 20, 1938 and grew up in Staten Island, New York. He worked at Nassau Smelting and Refining as a young man, and then went to work for Dellwood Dairies, retiring in 1995 after a 30 year career. John married his beloved wife Joan on September 19, 1964 and they truly enjoyed more than 53 years of marriage, love, and friendship together. He was a devoted family man who coached  his son in both baseball and basketball for 8 years with his good friend Ronnie Nola. In retirement there was nothing more important to "Poppa" than spending time with his grandchildren, Marisa and Danielle. John was also an avid football fan; he rooted for the N.Y Jets, Dallas Cowboys, and whatever team was playing the N.Y. Giants. John was lucky enough to have season tickets for his Jets during the 70's and to also see his Cowboys play at their home stadium in Texas.  John was predeceased by his 3 brothers, Pete, Patty, and Andrew and one sister, Millie. Over the years, John was known as the "Ice Man" and "Milkman"…. But mostly he was known as dependable and always being there for his family and friends.