John "pink" Joseph Friend Jr. Obituary (1949 - 2020)

Born Feb 26, 1949, John "pink" Joseph Friend Jr. attended Mansfield Senior High School in Mansfield, OH. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about John "pink" Joseph Friend Jr..

Graduation Year	Class of 1967
Date of Birth	Feb 26, 1949
Date of Passing	Aug 22, 2020
About	John was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to John and Juanita Friend, and moved to Mansfield in 1953. John attended St. Peter's Catholic School, and was a 1967 graduate of Mansfield Senior High School. John joined the United States Air Force in 1969-1973. He was a medic at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. John began his helping out at Weidle Meats at the age of 14 years old. After High School, John Weidle took him under his wing and taught him the trade. For 12 years, John worked at Western Southern and MetLife Insurance. John loved seeing all his customers and clients. They were all like family to him. He returned to Weidle Meats in 1993, and worked as a meat cutter until they closed. John enjoyed spending time with his family and our fur babies, Andy Boy, Chance, and Doc. He was fun loving, family man, life of the party, and he never met a stranger. John was loved by many. He loved playing tennis and had a love for music and dancing. You could often hear him singing and rocking it! John is survived by his loving wife of 19 years, Shannon Friend; his former wife of 26 years, Kathleen Friend; his sons, Todd (Keeley) Friend and Adam (April) Friend; his step children, Michelle (fiance, Jerry Burgess) Foltz, Nicole (Mike) Brown, and Jon (Lisa) Potter; his grandchildren, Conner, Alaina, and Parker; his step grandchildren, Chris (Brooke) Kallimanis, Mike (Stevanie) Brown, Morgan (fiance, Tristen Davis) Brown, Adrea and Brandon Potter, and Nickolas Potter; step great grandchildren, Sara Brown, Anna M. Kallimanis, and Zander Brown; his siblings, Jackie Hatfield, Theresa (Valle) Voelp, Linda (Jerry) Zeigher, and David (Carol) Friend; numerous nieces, nephews, and aunts; and an ex-daughter-in-law, Renee (Jeremy) Yeager. He was preceded in death by his parents; his fur babies, Shelby, Pretty Girl, and Bubie; and his precious grandson, Cameron Friend.
Events	Family and friends may visit from 2:00-4:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm on Monday, August 31, 2020 at the Diamond Street Home of Wappner Funeral Directors, 98 S. Diamond Street. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at the funeral home. John will be laid to rest at Mansfield Cemetery with the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad performing military honors.