John M. Lusa

LUSA, John M. of Washington Township has passed away on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at the age of 94. His wife, Marilyn G. Lusa, passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. John is survived by his daughter, Holly Lusa and son, Bradley Lusa.

John was born in the Westwood region of Dayton, Ohio on June 6th, 1930.

He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1948. He received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1953 and a Master's degree in business administration from the University of Dayton in 1968.

John and Marilyn raised their family in Kettering until 1970 when they relocated to Deerfield, IL., a suburb of Chicago. They once again relocated in 1985 to Stow, MA., a suburb of Boston. They left the Boston area in 1992 when they returned to the Dayton area, settling in Washington Township.

John's first job after college was a short stint as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. He then became the editor of NCR's in-house newspaper before transferring to their advertising dept. He remained with NCR until 1970 when he and his family moved to Deerfield so he could work at a large advertising agency in downtown Chicago. After many years at the agency, he took a job with Hitchcock Publishing in the Chicago area where he became vice president, publisher and editor of their technology publications. John and Marilyn's move to the Boston area allowed him to accept a position at PennWell Publishing where he was publisher and editor of their networking publications.

After retiring in 1992 and subsequently moving back to the Dayton area, he became an associate professor at Ball State University in the graduate program of the school's Center for Information and Communication Sciences. He taught at Ball State for 10 years.

John went through the ROTC program at Ohio University. Upon graduation, he served his two years of active duty in Korea, Hawaii and Virginia. After completing his active duty, he transferred to the Corp of Engineers in the US Army Reserves. He retired from the US Army as a full colonel in 1983 after 30 years of service. In later years, he worked with the Association of the United States Army where he served as president for the Ohio chapter.

John enjoyed all sports but especially golfing, tennis, water and snow skiing.

He was a huge fan of all things Ohio University where he attended countless football and basketball games. John loved a party especially if beer was being served, Miller Lite being his beer of choice. He was a dedicated husband to his wife and father to his children.

At the time of his passing, he was a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.

Services will be held at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 500 Belmonte Park N., Dayton, Ohio, 45405 on Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Annunciation.

A private family burial will be held at the Dayton National Cemetery where he will rest alongside his beloved wife.