John Lorenzi

John Anthony Lorenzi was born to parents Joseph William Lorenzi and Josephine Ann (Williams) Lorenzi in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 24, 1963. John was the youngest of seven siblings – sisters Carole, Joan, Dorothy, Grace, and Mary, and brother Al. John grew up on St. Paul’s “East Side” and was raised Roman Catholic. He attended school at Sacred Heart elementary, Mounds Park Jr. High, and Harding High School. John also took classes at St. Paul TVI in hydraulics and pneumatics. He later went on to receive his GED in 1990 and completed the Gunsmithing Technology program at Pine Technical College in 1992.  John passed away on May 7, 2010, after complications from a sudden illness. He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Josephine (Williams) Lorenzi; sister, Dorothy. He is survived by his wife Sharry; children, Emilia, Dominic, and Armando; siblings, Carole, Joan, Grace, Al, Mary; mother and father-in-law, Ruth and John Jansen; many nieces, nephews, and other extended family.

John met his wife-to-be, Sharry Lynn Simons, in February of 1983. They were married at St. Anthony Park United Methodist Church in St. Paul on October 28, 1989. They were blessed with the birth of their beautiful daughter, Emilia Marie, on September 8, 1990, and they moved to Forest Lake one month later. John and Sharry purchased their home at 25701 Iris Avenue in Chisago City (then Wyoming Township) in September of 1993 where they settled in to raise their family. They celebrated the proud births of their sons Dominic John on September 14, 1994, and Armando Joseph on May 29, 2002.

John worked as a gunsmith, most recently at Gander Mountain for several years and for Coonan Arms prior to that. John was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, serving as Cub Scout den leader and committee member, was a member of the National Rifle Association, and was a certified Firearm Safety Instructor for many years.

John loved his family and was incredibly proud of all his children. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, playing drums, working on guns, baking pies and bongos, and riding his Harley!