John Stephen Stover

John (Johnny or Ditto) Stephen Stover, 78, of Jacksonville, FL passed away Friday, December 18, 2020 after a short battle with cancer for the second time. Johnny is preceded in death by his parents; Quentin (Turkey) Stover and Alice Rutledge Stover of Pax, WV, his son, John Chrisner of Michigan, his older sister Carol Ann Stover Allen (Jim), and his younger brother, Richard Kenneth Stover (Marilyn) both of Jacksonville. He leaves behind a big loving family to cherish his memory; brothers, Robert (Gabe) Stover (Jude), Stanley Stover, Tom Stover (Linda), sister Judy Stover Strickland (Phil), Dale Stover, 2 granddaughters; Peyton Chrisner West (Joe) and Paige Chrisner, numerous nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews, 2 aunts, and many cousins and a host of special long-time friends. All of them received unconditional love from Johnny and returned the same to him.

 Johnny was born October 17, 1942 in Maynor, West Virginia. He grew up in WV, living most of that time and receiving most of his education in the small town of Pax. He went to school one year in Beckley, WV graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School there in 1962. Returning to Pax often during his life, he enjoyed wonderful reunions with cherished friends and family there. He was an avid West Virginia Mountaineers’ sports fan and loved to wear their logo.

He spent a short time in the Army, worked for the Coach Company in Jacksonville, Florida and also drove a bus in Ohio. He then moved to Michigan and with this as his home base, began a new job as a truck driver hauling cars for a living. He loved the life of travelling the United States, seeing new things and meeting people from all over. He made many life-long friends as he pursued this career. Eventually, he changed his home base to Orlando for a few short years, and later retired back in Jacksonville.

He will be deeply missed by all of us. He will be remembered for his kind heart and determination to stay positive in spite of the pain he had to endure for so long. He loved his family dearly and delighted in family gatherings where he could impress us with a “special outfit” or a tall tale for the kids and provide lots of fun, teasing and laughter for us all. He was generous to a fault and either helped out or treated most of us at one time or another. He touched many other lives with his smile and friendliness and his generosity knew no bounds. His biggest gift to others was just acceptance, no matter your situation or stance in life he would be your friend.

A celebration of Johnny’s life will be held in the chapel at Cedar Bay Funeral Home, 405 New Berlin Rd., 32218 on Sunday, January 3, 2021 with Phillip Gatlin, his great nephew, officiating.
Visitation will begin at 1:00 pm and a service will be held at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. The funeral home requests that masks be worn and social distancing will be practiced as much as possible.

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