It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of John H. Davidsen of Massapequa on November 22, 2024 at the age of 96. John was the loving husband of the late Eleanor Davidsen; father of John W Davidsen of Massapequa, Nancy Quinn of Babylon, Robert Davidsen (and wife Elizabeth) of Smithtown; and grandfather of Andrew Quinn, Daniel Davidsen and Ryan Davidsen. In addition to his wife, he was also pre-deceased by his son-in-law Kevin Quinn, his brothers Alfred and William, and his sister Alice.

John was born in Brooklyn, NY on November 27, 1927 and was the third born child of Harriet and John Davidsen, both of whom were immigrants from Norway. As a child, John enjoyed riding his bicycle and at the age of 14 he and his friend Ralph even rode all the way from Brooklyn to Baltimore, MD. John was a lifelong hard worker and had many childhood jobs such as setting bowling pins, working for a dry cleaner, selling flowers and assisting at a printing press.

In June 1945 John graduated from the New York School of Printing in Manhattan, now the High School of Graphic Communication Arts. In late 1945, John enlisted in the US Navy and is a proud WWII vet. John traveled aboard the destroyer USS Mayrant, DD-402, on its way to be sacrificed at Bikini atoll in the first underwater nuclear bomb test, an event John witnessed. Thereafter, John served aboard the destroyer USS Chevalier, DD-805, which toured the Western Pacific and also spent time moored off China. John was in charge of maintaining the small arms aboard ship and he served as armed watch while in port. Upon discharge from the Navy, he rode a motorcycle most of the way across the country from San Diego, California to return home to Brooklyn, NY.

Once home, John began his career as a master carpenter. He started out working with his father, his Uncle Dan, and his brother Alfred building houses and churches across Long Island and eventually became employed by Nastasi White in New York City. He spent the majority of his working life with Nastasi White and took great pride in having helped remodel Carnegie Hall, The Museum of Natural History and The Cornell University Alumni Center in NYC.

In 1950, John met the love of his life, Eleanor Benes. After a 3 year courtship full of love and laughter, they got engaged in the summer of 1953 and married on November 7th, 1953. They went on to have 3 beautiful children who filled their lives with tremendous happiness.

In 1956, John and Eleanor purchased property in Massapequa, NY. With the help of his friends and family, John spent every Saturday for a year and a half building their dream home. They created countless memories raising their family in that home and John lived there for the rest of his life.

John was a kind, loving and generous person. He was always good natured, optimistic and remained calm in challenging situations. Everyone who met him adored him. John’s greatest joy came from helping others, he absolutely loved sharing his carpentry skills and spent countless hours at his children’s homes fixing problems, beautifying/rebuilding spaces and creating projects such as bookcases, window seats and sheds (among many, MANY others) which will be treasured forever.

John passed 5 days shy of his 97th birthday. Everyone who loves him knows that he discovered the secret to a long and happy life: don’t sweat the small stuff, stay active (he was working on projects in his house into his 90’s) and surround yourself with the people you love the most. He will be missed tremendously but we take comfort in how well he lived his life and legacy of love he leaves behind.

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