John Joseph Safar

RICHFIELD - John J. Safar, 93, passed away September 9, 2022. John was born in Akron, Ohio on June 25, 1929 to Julius and Katie Safar and lived his entire life in the Akron area until June of 2019 when he moved to The Inn at Apple Ridge in Richfield after his beloved wife, Mary, passed away.
John was a Sergeant First Class in the Army during the Korean War, training soldiers. John worked at Portage Machine until opening his own machine shop, Safar Machine Company. He built it into a successful business which lasted 42 years and worked into his 80s until Mary finally convinced him to stay home with her. John and Mary built and remodeled many homes in the Portage Lakes area and loved living on the lake. They were very well traveled going on cruises to the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska, and many casino trips to the Bahamas, Canada, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. John would always lovingly stand behind Mary feeding her $100 bills to put in the slot machine. They had so much fun together and were married 68 years until her death in October 2018. We are sure she will be there to greet him with her hands on her hips saying, "Johnny you stupid man what took you so long to get here!" John was an avid Cleveland sports fan and loved drinking his gin and watching the Browns and Indians and especially loved attending the games.
John was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife, Mary, his grandson Marc Daniel Salopek, sisters Mary Morgan and Helen Thomas. He is survived by his sons John (Debbie), Bruce (Joni) and daughter Julie (Mark) Salopek, grandchildren John Michael Safar (Val), Erin (Kyle) Ostergren, Matt and Katie Safar, Marisa and Michael Salopek and great-grandchildren Landyn Ostergren and Sydney Safar.
The family would like to thank the staff at The Inn at Apple Ridge for taking such good care of John the last three years, especially the activities coordinator Vicki. He was affectionately known as the "bird man" making hundreds of bird feeders, hanging them on a tree right outside his window and he loved his weekly bus rides to various locations. We also want to thank their best friends Kathy and Emmett Vesco who were always there for them and especially for John after Mary passed away.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 11AM at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 4019 Manchester Road in Akron, where the family will receive friends for 1 hour, beginning at 10AM. Burial at Holy Cross. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank (  https://www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/)