John Thomas Santopolo

John Thomas Santopolo, of Rocky Mount, Virginia, died on February 19, 2021. He was preceded in death by his mother, Madalyn P. Santopolo (Roanoke, VA) and his father Frank A. Santopolo (Fort Collins, CO).

John grew up in Roanoke and was a proud graduate of Jefferson High School, Class of 1964. He was a United States Marine Corps veteran and a retired Roanoke City Police Department Sergeant with 22 years of service. After retirement John enjoyed working on projects at home, taking annual trips to Myrtle Beach and learning to play golf. He made many new friends playing golf and looked forward to the weekly rounds with "the guys" at Blue Hills.

John is survived by his wife, loving friend and caregiver, Ruth; special Uncle and Aunt Don and Edith Peters; cherished cousins. He is also survived by brothers Micheal (Chrissy) Santopolo and Tony Santopolo; brothers-in-law James and Hubert (Judy) Bowman; sisters-in-law Elizabeth (Elwood) Oakes and Peggy Bowman; nieces and nephews; numerous friends.

The family expresses appreciation to all health care workers and first responders - especially to the following: Dr. Bruce Long and Staff at Carilion Clinic General Surgery; Dr. Gregory Stidham and Staff at Carilion Clinic Family Medicine; Staff at Franklin Memorial and Roanoke Memorial Hospitals; and Home Health Nurses. Your care and compassion helped us make it through this last year and especially the last week.

Celebrate John's life with a toast to memories of good times shared or a funny story that he would have appreciated. Private services will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in John's name to The National D-Day Memorial Foundation, P. 0. Box 77, Bedford, Va 24523. Arrangements by Flora Funeral Service and Cremation Center.