John R. Gacki, 75, left this earth to claim his heavenly rewards on August 25, 2020 after courageously fighting a brief illness. Lovingly nicknamed “ Butch” in his youth, he was was the eldest son of the late John and Sophie Gacki of Saint Louis, MO. Beloved brother of Janet (Marion,d.) Orf, Allen (Sharon) Gacki, Eugene (Diane) Gacki, and the late James Gacki.  Devoted husband of 49 years to Carla Gacki. Adored father of Krista Gacki, Stacy (Brian) Solano, Kelly Collins and Stephanie Gacki. Grandfather of Eric (Cheyenne), Joshua, Kiley, Aaron, Ethan, Gavin, Justin, Nicholas,and Lucas and newly great grandfather of Keanu. Cherished uncle, brother-in-law, cousin, and friend to many. As a child, he loved to play the accordion and learned to work hard delivering newpapers. He played basketball and football but his first love was soccer, which he also coached. He was a 1963 graduate of Saint Louis University High. He briefly studied at Washington U and SLU after his appointment to the US Naval academy was cut short by a knee injury. John went on to work as a numerical control programmer at Combustion Engineering and then as an aerospace manufacturing engineer for The Boeing Company. In 2002, he relocated to Jacksonville, Florida where he worked for the last 14 years at Epping Forest. John found joy in fixing and maintaining cars, appliances, and electronics. You name it – he could fix it. He dutifully reminded everyone when oil changes, air filters and tire rotations were due. He was still arranging for repairs and part replacements up until his final days. He was a man of faith who found great comfort in his savior Jesus Christ and the promises of eternal life.

Above all things he was the most selfless man you could know. John was known to rotate through his batch of Hawaiian shirts and to patch a hole in his Levi’s from time to time, “they’re not worn out, they’re worn in and they’re comfortable that way.” He lived simply and never did for himself. John gave all he had to his family and friends. His idea of cutting loose would be a trip to the track to watch the races. Lucky numbers 3-5-7.

John was absolutely devoted to helping care for his grandkids. They were the apple of his eye. Anything he could possibly do to make some one else’s day easier he would do without giving it a second thought. John kept us laughing with his countless memorable colloquial expressions and often caught us off guard with his quick wit. The most valuable lesson he taught us was to take care of one another and his best advice we will forever treasure “ Look out for the other guy”. Due to COVID restrictions, a small celebration of life will be held by the immediate family with plans for a later inurnment service at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. In lieu of flowers, contributions can made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma  society in honor of his daughter and brother who are survivors.

https://pages.lls.org/ltn/ncfl/Jacksonv20/butchgacki