Obituaries
Obituary for Jon Paul Mazzuckelli
Jon Paul Mazzuckelli, of Hanna City, IL, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in his home with the presence of his family.
Jon was born in Peoria, IL, on July 17, 1942, the son of Marshall and Catherine Mazzuckelli. He married Donna Smith in 1961. They were married for 56 years at the time of her death in 2017. Together, they raised three daughters who all survive: Lori Mazzuckelli (Keith Fouts) of Hanna City, Amy (Dave) Murphy of Peoria, and Paula (Todd) Sheridan of Elmwood. Jon is also survived by grandchildren Matthew Murphy of Napa, CA, Jon “Jack” Murphy of Milwaukee, WI, Tyler Sheridan of Elmwood, and Abigail Sheridan of Elmwood, as well as his loyal Labrador retrievers, Rookie and Willie.
Jon succeeded his father as owner and operator of Acme Tile Company, installing ceramic tile in homes, buildings and offices throughout the Mid-West. He knew only hard work and ‘a lot of elbow grease’, but when not working Jon loved nature, wildlife, fishing, skeet shooting and duck hunting, and most of all his dogs. At a young age, Jon spent portions of the summer in Minnesota with his father fishing at Heart Lake. Jon and Donna, throughout their life together, were fortunate to share the same passions for sport and hobby. Early in their marriage, both were avid skeet shooters--earning Illinois Skeet Shooting Association All-State Honors multiple times. Jon was recognized for breaking 463 straight targets without a miss in 12 gauge competition. His passion turned to training Labrador retrievers when he and Donna acquired their first puppy some 45 years ago.
They purchased land in rural Hanna City in 1981 to design and build their dream home on property where they could train their retrievers daily. His daughters didn’t appreciate the sport of training retrievers quite as much but would still be coaxed into throwing birds and bumpers for the dogs even though they had a hard time ‘landing it on that blade of grass over there’. Together, Jon and Donna raised and trained many retrievers and had three dogs earn the title of Field Champion. Jon trained and handled dogs in numerous local and national championship stakes throughout his years and handled their dog Jeep to a coveted double-header at Weldon Spring, Missouri in 1992, winning both the Open Special and Amateur stakes in the same trial. Jon earned national recognition through his dedication to the sport and was selected to be one of the judges of the 1997 National Open Field Trail Retriever Championship. The culmination of Jon and Donna’s passion for retrievers and field trials was when Jeep entered the Field Trial Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jon lived and enjoyed a simple life. When not working or mowing, he enjoyed time with his family, walking with his dogs, or sometimes just sitting on the porch watching the geese in the yard. He will be missed.
A Funeral Mass will take place at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Elmwood, on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 10:30 AM, with a half hour prior visitation. Fr. James Pankiewicz will officiate. Burial will follow in Texas Union Cemetery in Hanna City, IL.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bird Dog Foundation, 505 Hwy 57W, Grand Junction, TN 38039, in Jon’s memory for the Retriever Hall of Fame.
Friends and family may sign the online guestbook by logging onto www.wrightandsalmon.com.
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Jon was born in Peoria, IL, on July 17, 1942, the son of Marshall and Catherine Mazzuckelli. He married Donna Smith in 1961. They were married for 56 years at the time of her death in 2017. Together, they raised three daughters who all survive: Lori Mazzuckelli (Keith Fouts) of Hanna City, Amy (Dave) Murphy of Peoria, and Paula (Todd) Sheridan of Elmwood. Jon is also survived by grandchildren Matthew Murphy of Napa, CA, Jon “Jack” Murphy of Milwaukee, WI, Tyler Sheridan of Elmwood, and Abigail Sheridan of Elmwood, as well as his loyal Labrador retrievers, Rookie and Willie.
Jon succeeded his father as owner and operator of Acme Tile Company, installing ceramic tile in homes, buildings and offices throughout the Mid-West. He knew only hard work and ‘a lot of elbow grease’, but when not working Jon loved nature, wildlife, fishing, skeet shooting and duck hunting, and most of all his dogs. At a young age, Jon spent portions of the summer in Minnesota with his father fishing at Heart Lake. Jon and Donna, throughout their life together, were fortunate to share the same passions for sport and hobby. Early in their marriage, both were avid skeet shooters--earning Illinois Skeet Shooting Association All-State Honors multiple times. Jon was recognized for breaking 463 straight targets without a miss in 12 gauge competition. His passion turned to training Labrador retrievers when he and Donna acquired their first puppy some 45 years ago.
They purchased land in rural Hanna City in 1981 to design and build their dream home on property where they could train their retrievers daily. His daughters didn’t appreciate the sport of training retrievers quite as much but would still be coaxed into throwing birds and bumpers for the dogs even though they had a hard time ‘landing it on that blade of grass over there’. Together, Jon and Donna raised and trained many retrievers and had three dogs earn the title of Field Champion. Jon trained and handled dogs in numerous local and national championship stakes throughout his years and handled their dog Jeep to a coveted double-header at Weldon Spring, Missouri in 1992, winning both the Open Special and Amateur stakes in the same trial. Jon earned national recognition through his dedication to the sport and was selected to be one of the judges of the 1997 National Open Field Trail Retriever Championship. The culmination of Jon and Donna’s passion for retrievers and field trials was when Jeep entered the Field Trial Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jon lived and enjoyed a simple life. When not working or mowing, he enjoyed time with his family, walking with his dogs, or sometimes just sitting on the porch watching the geese in the yard. He will be missed.
A Funeral Mass will take place at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Elmwood, on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 10:30 AM, with a half hour prior visitation. Fr. James Pankiewicz will officiate. Burial will follow in Texas Union Cemetery in Hanna City, IL.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bird Dog Foundation, 505 Hwy 57W, Grand Junction, TN 38039, in Jon’s memory for the Retriever Hall of Fame.
Friends and family may sign the online guestbook by logging onto www.wrightandsalmon.com.
Previous Events
Visitation
Saturday
18
Jun
10:00 AM
- 10:30 AM
St. Patrick Catholic Church
802 W Main St,
Elmwood, IL 61529
Funeral Mass
Saturday
18
Jun
10:30 AM
St. Patrick Catholic Church
802 W Main St,
Elmwood, IL 61529
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