JOHN VERSACE
MARCH 23, 2024
Santa Fe - 1925–2024: John Versace passed away peacefully on March 23 at his home, two months shy of his 99th birthday. He is survived by his four children and their families, including four beloved grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and a wide network of colleagues, friends, and neighbors.
Even as he aged and his health declined, his defining characteristics—his brilliant mind, effusive conversations, varied reading interests, enviable attention to detail, easy humor, and deep love for his family—never wavered.
He was born in Washington, DC, to immigrant parents who had set sail during the WWI era from Reggio Calabria with two young sons. As a teen, with his brothers already out of the house, he became proficient with a short-wave radio he set up in the basement and worked on nascent radio and television stations around DC while attending high school at night.
Drafted into the US Navy at 18, he served aboard a destroyer in the Pacific as a radar technician, arriving at Okinawa on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945. Later, he was a graduate of the University of Maryland and Ohio State University, where he specialized in human factors in man-machine systems, receiving his PhD in experimental psychology after researching military air-traffic control in OSU’s Laboratory of Aviation Psychology.
He turned down an invitation from the Dept. of Defense, electing to spend 33 years in automotive safety research in Detroit, bringing his brilliance and dedication to many safety features we take for granted today, including shatterproof glass, child car seats, and of course the seat belt—innovations that will continue to save countless lives in the future. He has been a long-time member of the scientific research honor society Sigma Xi and a Fellow of both the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Psychological Association (APA).
John met his future bride, Rita Marie, when they were both students in the OSU doctoral program, and they lived a fruitful life together for 61 years. They relocated to Santa Fe in 1999 to enjoy their first grandchild. John took great pleasure in studying the history and culture of his new environment, eventually serving as a well-informed tour guide for the steady stream of friends and family who visited.
After Rita’s passing seven years ago, John was never without one or the other of his three daughters, so he could stay in his home as independently as possible. Their care and attention on a daily basis made his last years comfortable and well-suited to his scholarly interests and quiet nature.
John lived a rich, full life built from almost nothing; he impacted every person he met, and countless others have benefitted indirectly from his generosity, optimism, and genius. More than any of this, though, was his love for his family, a gift we will never forget.
Special thanks from John’s family go out to the dedicated caregivers who assisted his daughters with hands-on care and meaningful companionship over the years, as well as to the compassionate attention from Ambercare Hospice. Deep gratitude also goes to Helen for her fastidious attention to his home environment for 25 years and especially to Samuel, who became John’s steadfast guardian and dear friend until his final breath.
The family has entrusted the care of their loved one to Rivera Family Funerals, 417 East Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM. riverafamilyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/
Services are planned for Tuesday, April 2: Visitation (informal): 9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.; Memorial Service: 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.. Burial with military honors at Santa Fe National Cemetery, 12:15–1:00 p.m.