John Barresi
John R. Barresi, husband, father, a great friend, and businessman, met his untimely death on March 16, 2009 at the age of 58 in Edmond, Oklahoma. John was literally the personification of someone who "never met a man he didn't like." John was well known for his love of conversation and intense interest in others. After services at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, John always spent extra time after Mass chatting with and hugging his fellow parishioners. A deep loss will be felt by all those who had the privilege of being the focus of his attention. John is survived by his beloved wife, Janet two sons, Joseph and Benjamin his special son, Marcus Bivines and his children, Cai, Dasia, and Gabriel his brother, William Barresi of Florida Bill's daughter, Cristina his father-in-law, Jim Costello and many brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, aunts, and uncles. John has been reunited with his late sister, Frane, mother and father, Cosmo and Genevieve Barresi, in Heaven stopping to chat with St. Peter at the gates to plan a huge Italian meal for the hearty souls to enjoy. John was the example of the American Dream. He was a first generation Italian-American, as the son of Cosmo and Genevieve who both immigrated to the United States from Italy in the 1920's. The family eventually settled in Meadville, PA and in the mid-sixties the family relocated to Youngstown, OH where John, Bill, and Frane were raised while Cosmo and Genevieve owned various businesses. John attended Ursuline High School where he played football for the Fighting Irish. He received a college football scholarship and headed south to play football at Trinity Valley Junior College. He was a highly successful defensive lineman and received the honor of being named a Junior College All American. After junior college, John accepted a scholarship to play football for the University of Oklahoma. He played football for OU from 1973 thru the National Championship season of 1974. Through the years John loved and supported his Sooners and enjoyed spending time with his former teammates. It was at OU where he met the love of his life, Janet Costello, and the two of them began to make plans for their future together. He received his degree in Petroleum Land Management in 1976 and started his career in the Oklahoma oil and gas business. Through hard work and dogged persistence over 30 years, John built a successful oil and gas company called BBX Oil Corporation. After selling BBX in 2007, he founded another company, Cosmo Investments, L.L.C. God blessed John and Janet in many ways but never more so than with the birth of their twin sons, Joe and Ben, both of Norman, Oklahoma. John loved his boys and helped raise them into great young men who will carry on his core values of God, family, hard work and charity to others. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Varsity "O" Association, University of Oklahoma, or to the Harding Charter Preparatory High School Scholarship Fund or to Independence Charter Middle School. A Prayer Vigil will be held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, 900 South Littler Avenue, Thursday, March 19, at 6:00 PM. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at 9th and Boulevard in Edmond, Oklahoma, at 11:00 AM, Friday, March 20, to celebrate John's life.