John Fleming Cagnina, formerly of Rowayton, passed away peacefully on May 13, 2017 in Westerly, R.I. after living happily for three years at StoneRidge, a retirement community in Mystic. He was two days shy of his 87th birthday.
Image by Willie Wax on Wikimedia Commons
Image by Willie Wax on Wikimedia Commons
His death was a result of heart disease and dementia.
A 44-year resident of Rowayton, John served as a Commissioner of the Sixth Taxing District and Chair of the Rowayton Civic Association.
An enthusiastic skier and sailor, he was a founding member of the Rowayton Yacht Club at Hickory Bluff.
He was a longtime member of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien, where he was active in its choir; and he served on the board of Hill Top Homes, a senior residence in Rowayton.
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— an obituary from Mystic Funeral Home
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Born in the Bronx, N.Y., to P.J. and Margaret Cagnina, John held a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts. He served as a navigator on a destroyer and at U.S. Naval Headquarters in London.
John then joined General Electric, where he held a variety of positions. In 1995, he retired from BMW of North America after leading their human resources department for 20 years.
He was predeceased by his brother, Vincent. John is survived by his wife of nearly 59 years, Anne Shea Cagnina; their children: Tom, Mary Sweeney (Jim), Jean McCutcheon (Larry) and Matt (Jodi); and six grandchildren: Cate and Robert Rung, Ned and Will McCutcheon and Max and Brock Cagnina.
A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m., May 23, 2017 at St. John Roman Catholic Church, followed by interment in Union Cemetery, Rowayton. A memorial will be held at StoneRidge at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx or Hope Hospice, Providence, R.I.
Editor’s note: Some information in this obituary previously was published by The Hour of Norwalk.