John Carl Nagy Sr.

John Carl Nagy Sr., 68, of Chicago, formerly a longtime resident of Austintown, Ohio, passed away Sunday, July 26, 2026.

John was born on November 1, 1957, in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, a son of the late Joseph L. Nagy Sr. and Lillian M. (Smulick) Nagy. He came to Austintown with his family as a boy in 1965 and spent most of his life there before moving to Chicago.

For years, John owned and operated Meridian Auto Service on Meridian Road. His grandfather, Adam Smulick, came down to the garage almost every day to tinker alongside him, and much of what he knew, he learned at his side. He went on to finish his career as a diesel mechanic for New World Van Lines, where his technical skill, reliability, and professionalism earned the respect of colleagues and customers alike. At home, though the standards were looser, the end results were the same. Give him a tool and a roll of duct tape, and he’d get things working again. What he called a success, the rest of us called “Johnny-rigging,” and it held far longer than it had any right to.

John loved a game in person. Baseball, football, hockey, it didn’t matter; he made the trip to Pittsburgh alongside his son whenever he could, and there wasn’t a bad seat as long as they were in it together with some hot dogs. The rest of the year, he was content to argue Steelers versus Browns with his brother Bill, a debate neither of them ever really wanted to win. He was also an avid fisherman, and his son would never let him forget when it was “absolutely 100% his fault and nobody else’s” that the big one got away.

And he loved a card game. Poker with his dad, his brothers, his brothers-in-law, cousins, uncles, nephews, nieces — anyone willing to sit down and win away his nickels and quarters. The money was never the point; the company and the conversation were.

Most of all, John loved being (and adamantly arguing) with family. He carried on the namesake his father wore before him — after Pappy Joe came Pappy John — and he wore it proudly. In Chicago, he shared his life with his longtime partner, Debbie Holmes, and in her son, Kevin, he found the second son he never had but always needed.

He is survived by his son, John C. (Sarah) Nagy Jr. and granddaughter Adilyn of Twinsburg, OH; his longtime partner, Debbie Holmes, of Chicago; Kevin (Tatiana) Holmes; his brothers, Joseph L. (Lisa) Nagy Jr., of Canfield, OH, Michael Nagy, of Dunedin, FL, and William E. “Bill” (Colleen) Nagy, of Columbiana, OH; his sisters, Deborah (Gary) Scurti, of Tampa, FL, and Diana (Jim) Diaz, of Parrish, FL; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph L. Nagy Sr. and Lillian M. Nagy; his sister, Linda; his niece, Nicole; his great-nephew, Gabriel; and his great-niece, Isabella.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date to be announced to family and friends.