John Richard "Bruiser" Gull

MELBOURNE, Fla. - John Richard "Bruiser" Gull, 75, passed away on Dec. 19, 2015, after fighting valiantly, at the Avante Center in Melbourne.

John was born in Ewen, Mich., on Oct. 21, 1940, to Uno and Katherine Gull. He was an avid Boy Scout who attended and graduated from Ewen High School in 1958. John attended business college in Green Bay, Wis., before joining the U.S. Army in 1961.

He was assigned to various duty stations, including the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece, where he met his wife, Despina, Fort Dix, N.J., and Fort Bliss, Texas. He served a tour of duty in Chu Lai, Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star supporting the fight against communist aggression.

After Vietnam, he was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, then finished his military career stateside in Alexandria, Va. After serving with honor for 20 years, John retired from the Army with the rank of Master Sergeant, then worked for the Department of Defense for another 20 years and retired in 2003. John earned numerous awards for his service in both his military and civil service careers. In 2014, John moved to Winter Haven and spent his remaining days in the sun and warmth of Florida.

John was a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan and stockholder who looked forward to each football season with the hope that his Packers would bring the Lombardi trophy home, where it belonged.

John was a proud supporter of America's space program and regularly traveled to Florida with his son, Nick, to view numerous space shuttle launches. John was also a big supporter of his granddaughters and would attend as many basketball, softball, field hockey games, school plays and events, as he could. When his illness prevented him from attending in person, he followed their exploits via Facebook. John also loved to surf fish and made regular pilgrimages to North Carolina's Outerbanks for the annual bluefish run and to visit their famous lighthouses. John will be missed by his family and friends and will be thought of with fondness.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Uno and Katherine Gull.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Despina, of Alexandria; his sister, Lois and brother-in-law, John Gracyalny, of Oneida, Wis .; his son, Mark and daughter-in-law, Kelly and granddaughters, Sophia and Lillian, of Alexandria; his son, Nikolas of Alexandria; and numerous nieces and nephews, including his Goddaughter and niece, Lynelle.

On Tuesday, April 5, at 11 a.m., John will be interred with honor at Arlington National Cemetery and be laid to rest along with those who also proudly served their country with honor. Contributions may be made in memory of John to the United Service Organizations (USO) to PO Box 96860 Washington, DC 20090.