John P. Borgmann, 79 years of St. Leon, passed away on July 1, 2023, while temporarily living in Port Orange, Florida. Born and raised on the West side of Cincinnati, John moved to California for 20 years where he owned and managed several upscale restaurants and bars. This was the perfect scene for John as he was extremely outgoing and always had a story to share. Sensing the time was right to move back to the mid-west, John’s sister asked him to help build her house and assist with the wood finishing. Not exactly sure how to go about this, John borrowed a book from the library, studied up on it, and started his own business, Borgmann Wood Finishing. John was very successful at his business and did work for many local homes and businesses for 40 years. Around the time John was starting his business, he was set up on a blind date with Kathy Leonard through a mutual friend. Their relationship blossomed and soon they built a house in St. Leon. John loved motorcycles and they began taking trips to bike week every year in Daytona. That evolved into John buying a house in Port Orange, Florida and soon John & Kathy were snow birding for the winter.
John was a proud veteran of the United States Navy and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this time, he was responsible for loading the missiles onto the ships and was part of the United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees.
A mass honoring John will be held on Saturday, September 9 at 1:30pm at St. John’s Campus of All Saints Parish. He will be deeply missed by his lifelong partner Kathy Leonard, some terrific nephews, a brother, children, and lots of good friends. John will be remembered for his vitality, his outgoing personality, and the pure fact that he was such a character. Family and friends are encouraged to leave condolences at www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com