September 12 1930 June 18 2019
John Ditcheos September 12, 1930 – June 18, 2019 Share this obituary Sign Guestbook JOHN DITCHEOS, 88, died at his home in Woodstock, Vermont, in his favorite easy chair, on June 18, 2019. He was born on September 12, 1930 in Hightstown, New Jersey and was the son of Nicholas and Alexandria Ditcheos, and younger brother to George. John spent his early life with his family in his father’s homeland of Greece until the German occupation when they fled the country in an old wooden boat with no possessions other than the clothes they were wearing. After going through the Ellis Island immigration process (John, George and Alexandria were US Citizens but Nicholas and the other family members were not) they all eventually settled in Hightstown, New Jersey where John went to Hightstown Grade School, and Peddie Prep School where he met the love of his life and future wife, Janet Catherine Underhill. After graduating from Peddie Prep School (in 2004 he was inducted into the Peddie School Sports Hall of Fame for soccer) he went on to attend Cornell, graduating with a degree in Hotel Management. John loved playing soccer; his college team was second team All American and after college he played semi-pro soccer for the New York Cosmos. John went into the army and served as an officer and then went on to help his brother and mother run the family restaurant in Hightstown, New Jersey. The family sold the business in the early 1960s so John moved on to become the restaurant manager of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Not adoring the long hours and midnight train commutes into the city, he was offered a position managing the food and beverage department of a new ski area in Vermont called Killington where he was employed until his retirement at the age of 83 in 2013. John was instrumental in developing the food and beverage business into a major revenue generator, and later served as Killington’s banquet and conference manager. Along the way, John was honored with many achievement awards from organizations such as the New England Culinary Institute (where he served on the board for many years) the American Culinary Federation, Naval Base Philadelphia (Commander’s Certificate of Appreciation), the Vermont Lodging and Restaurant Association and the Taste of Vermont. His long-time goal was to see a Killington tourist sign along Interstate 89 and was instrumental in getting that approved by the Vermont Department of Tourism. After his retirement from Killington, John spent time travelling and being with his family. He was a loving father of three children (Jo Ann Stanyon, Jackie Lynn Fenner and John Nicholas Ditcheos), grandfather of seven (Robert Flower and Timothy Stanyon, Alexander, Nicholas and Jasmine Ditcheos, and Warren and Catherine (Johnson) Fenner; and a great grandfather to six children (Christian and Charlotte Ditcheos, Natalie Olsen and Kai Ditcheos, Callister Ditcheos and Rhys Fenner) with three more on the way. John will be remembered by many as the man, the myth and the legend. There will be a memorial visitation on Saturday, June 22 at the Cabot Funeral Home on 32 Rose Hill in Woodstock between the hours of 3pm and 6pm and a private graveside service on Sunday morning where he will be laid to rest next to Janet and his granddaughter Elizabeth. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the St. James Episcopal Church, 2 St. James Place, Woodstock, Vermont 05091. You can sign the online guestbook by visiting www.cabotfh.com Print Obituary Sign Guestbook Name: Location: Video: Image: Light A Candle Candle 1 Candle 2 Candle 3 Candle 4 Email: Personal Message: Personal Message (required) Confirm: Submit Guestbook entry
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of John Ditcheos September 12 1930 June 18 2019.
Cabot Funeral Home – Woodstock
Death notice for the town of: Woodstock, state: Vermont