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Bonner Joy, Publisher. news@islander.org
Cagnina celebration July 26
John B. Cagnina, 81, of Holmes Beach, died May 31.
He was born Sept. 16, 1943, in Tampa to the late Ignazio E. and Josephine Cagnina.
He was a lifelong Floridian whose life was marked by his faith, integrity and love for family, friends and community.
He grew up on Anna Maria Island and spent his childhood years fishing, working at his family’s IGA store, playing baseball and football and enjoying the freedoms of living on a relatively undeveloped island. The tranquility of beach life suited him and Anna Maria Island remained his lifelong home.
He graduated the University of Florida with a degree in business administration.
He then served in the Florida Army National Guard for six years.
He became a licensed mortgage broker and founding Southeast Independent Mortgage Co., where he spent the majority of his working career.
Mr. Cagnina enjoyed reading financial, historical and political publications. He enjoyed time with family and friends, vacationing in Montana and New England, watching sports and cheering his beloved Gators.
A celebration of life will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Ginny’s and Jane E’s Cafe — formerly the IGA store — in Anna Maria.
Mr. Cagnina is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carol Gilley; sister Carmen and husband Bill Shea; sister-in-law Dorothy Surette; aunt Josie Pollock; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Janet Desmarais
Janet March Desmarais, 66, of Bunnell, and formerly of Anna Maria, died July 6, in Gainesville following complications from surgery.
She was born and raised in Auburn, New Hampshire, to Walter and Gwendolyn (Gerrior) Desmarais. She attended Auburn Village and Manchester Central High schools.
She married James Doherty in 1977 in Auburn and they had two sons, James and Patrick. She would later marry Robert Bruce in Derry, New Hampshire, and, in 1989, she married Todd Test on the beach at the north point of Anna Maria Island.
She moved with her two sons in 1985 to Anna Maria Island where her parents bought the Rod and Reel Motel. She managed the motel for 20 years with two talking parrots in the motel office. She was well loved by all her hotel guests, as well as the friends she made on the island.
She played cards with friends, guests and family and fished often with her sons at the Rod & Reel Pier. She liked going out to local hangouts, including Pete Reynard’s Yacht Club. She enjoyed country music and dancing.
She moved to North Carolina to be with her son James and his family in 2022 but returned to the Florida sunshine in Bunnell in 2023.
The family asked that memorial donations be made to Bishop Animal Shelter in Bradenton. Crevasse’s Simple Cremation was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Desmarais is survived by her mother, Gwendolyn, of Bradenton; sons James and wife Cassie of Lenoir, North Carolina, and Patrick and wife Nora of Brookline, New Hampshire; sisters Katherine and husband Peter of Loudon, New Hampshire, and Susan and husband Brian of Auburn, New Hampshire; grandchildren Ava, Hannah, Ariana, James, Julie, Gunner, Landon, Cameron and Anakin; and several nieces and nephews.
James ‘Jim’ Robert Riley Jr.
James “Jim” Robert Riley Jr., 70, of Anna Maria died July 13.
He was born in 1954 at the Norfolk Naval Hospital in Virginia and was raised in Tampa. He resided in Anna Maria for 26 years.
He attended Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida, and further pursued the art of commerce at Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida. He was both a valiant salesman and a sagacious business owner within the industrial water and wastewater treatment equipment industry.
His counsel and camaraderie were sought by many, and his presence within his profession was marked by integrity and wit.
He was known affectionately to family and friends as a man of great spirit and was a cherished husband to his beloved wife of 37 years, Janet Green Riley.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held Saturday, July 26. Please, contact his family for further information.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, Bradenton, is in charge of arrangements.
He is survived by wife Janet; brother Keith Cannon and wife Susan; sister Kimberly Cannon Moore and husband Rick; niece Ashley, husband Jaren Patamasank and sons Connor and Austin; nephew Tyler; cousins Clint Baker and wife Cathy and Sheila and husband Andy Hamilton; and his wife’s extended family; including Sherri Green Peterson and her daughters Christina and Kimberly; sister-in-law Shirl Green; and brother-in-law Steven Green.
Lori ‘Loretta’ Sefcik
Lori “Loretta” Sefcik, 90, of Bradenton and formerly of Holmes Beach and Cortez, died July 7.
She was born June 13, 1935, in Lima, Ohio, to the late Lori William and Eleanor Ortman of South Bend, Indiana.
Lori and her late husband, Coach George Sefcik, retired to Holmes Beach in 2001.
Mr. Sefcik was a National Football League offensive coach for 29 years and appeared in two Super Bowls.
The family thanks Dr. Scott Kosfeld of Island Family Physicians in Holmes Beach for his kindness, compassion and care for 24 years and the caregivers at Villas of Holly Brook Surrey Place and Tidewell Hospice.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Mrs. Selcik is survived by her son, Martin Annis of Holmes Beach; and daughter Tracy of Strongsvillle, Ohio.
Nancy Vakos
Nancy Vakos, 82, formerly of Anna Maria Island, died July 15.
She was born Nov. 23, 1942, in San Francisco to the late John F. Schmidt and Adele H. Scmidt.
She graduated from Hanover Park High School in Hanover, New Jersey, in 1960. She then got a legal secretarial degree from the renowned Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey. She was the secretary for the chief of police on Anna Maria Island for 10 years.
She loved traveling, boating and dancing, and was happiest with her beloved husband.
Memorial donations may be made to the Virginia Beach SPCA or the Surfrider Foundation.
Arrangements were by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, 2002 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Mrs. Vakos is survived by sister Janice Martini; daughter Kimberly A.; stepsons George W., Charles J., Andrew W. and Dwight Penny; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.