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John Edward Villermaux, age 52, of Middletown, DE, formerly of the 40 acres in Wilmington, passed away on April 14, 2022. John attended St. Anne’s Catholic School until 1984 when he then proudly attended and graduated from Salesianum High School in 1988. He studied at the University of Delaware and received his bachelor’s degree from Wilmington College.
John was one of a kind. His confidence and unwavering belief in who he was made him the rock of his family. He was infinitely thoughtful and completely selfless. He believed in honesty and giving all you had to give in life with no need for return. His thoughtful character, his unmatched hugs, and his strength to move mountains for his people can never be replaced.
John started his career in packaging in 1999, where he worked at Eastern Seaboard Packaging. He navigated the industry working in sales and learning the business and then eight years ago found his home at United Brokerage Packaging. There he was able to utilize his talent in operations and quickly expanded locations in Newark, Delaware and Manassas, Virginia. His dedication to his customers proved him to be a trustworthy and committed supplier. He was always intentional in how he showed his appreciation to his team of drivers, operators, salesman and managers and his holiday parties will always be remembered.
John was passionate about sports. He was an encyclopedia of sports knowledge. His first love, baseball, started at the Wilmington Optimist Little League. He also enjoyed basketball at St. Anne’s and spent many late nights in high school playing ice hockey with the men’s league. Watching his children excel at any sport was his greatest joy. He followed his oldest daughter Gabrielle for years on the soccer field and could recount every game, player, and opponent from her first travel team tryout through her career with UD Club Women’s Soccer. His music play-list was filled each year with Emma’s dance numbers and years later when his music shuffled to a song, he could tell you about her performance. He learned lacrosse through Emma and Jack and college lacrosse became another sport to watch from the corner of his couch. John’s years coaching Jack’s baseball team allowed him to share the game he loved with his son and bonded him to the players of the Middletown Titans and Diamond Town Brushbacks. He loved building the batting line-up and game planning with his fellow coaches. Matthew and his teammates, benefitted from John’s soccer pre-game speeches, honest post-game assessment and were often fueled for the game with his custom-made breakfast pancakes. Beyond sports, he loved to pour a cocktail for him and his wife, sit on the beach close to the waves and listen to music until late in the evening.
He was predeceased by his father, Robert Villermaux, and is survived by his wife, Susan, and their four children, Gabrielle, Emma, Jack and Matthew, as well as his mother, Carol (Dowling) Villermaux; sisters, Cynthia Villermaux, Anne Hickey (Jason); brother, Sean Smith (Ashley); niece, Lily; and nephews, Samuel, Kyle and Landon. He dearly loved and was forever grateful for his large extended family of Aunts, Uncles, cousins and adoring in-laws. He will be missed until the end of days.
Visitation will be held on Friday, April 22 from 4-7 p.m. at Doherty Funeral Home located at 3200 Limestone Road, Wilmington, DE 19808. Services will follow on Saturday, April 23 at 11 also at Doherty Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to an educational fund on behalf of John’s children; information regarding where to send contributions is forthcoming.
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