May 26, 2020 was the date of passing of Giovannine (John) Castiglione (October 22, 1938 – May 26, 2020), Director and Owner of Castiglione Accordion and Distributing Co, LLC Warren Mich.

His family shares, “A generous, loving man John Castiglione was and always will be to us, a man to whom family was always uppermost in his mind, a man who was there for everyone of us whenever, wherever and for whatever was needed.”

He supported his children and grandchildren in following their dreams, which often included education and music, in part inspired by him as he had a zest for learning and reading and was the head of a family owned accordion store.

John was 3 years old when he started playing the accordion, following in the footsteps of his father, Vincent. When the senior Castiglione came to America from Italy, he bought an accordion. Then he played it for a stranger and that person offered to buy the accordion (for three times the original cost). Vincent sold that one and bought another and another.

That was almost 80 years ago and the start of what became Castiglione Accordion Co. Vincent eventually opened a studio on Gratiot and McClellan in Detroit, originally bringing accordions in from New York and then importing them from Italy.

John grew up in Detroit , graduated from Denby High School and went on to graduate from Michigan State University. He moved to California where he eventually met his wife Anne, the love of his life. They settled in the Detroit suburbs and John began his lifelong work at Castiglione Accordion Company established by his father and mother Vincent and Giovanna Castiglione in 1935.

John Castiglione assumed control of the company in 1960 after his father suffered a minor heart attack. Vincent Castiglione died in 1972.

The company moved in 1988 from its offices on East Seven Mile Road in Detroit to a new office complex on 11 Mile Road in Warren, where the peripatetic Castiglione was launching an extensive office complex.

The business, according to a 2012 news article by the Macomb Daily includes John Castiglione, and employees Bill Dietz, Yakov Todromovich and Stephanie Sturgill and offers its own Castiglione accordions, as well as many other brands of Italian accordions.

John also had many interests. First and foremost his love of the outdoors, hiking and camping when the children were young and his love of travel. He and his wife were able to travel across the world to Europe, the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand meeting and making some heartfelt and lasting friendships along the way.

John is survived by his sister and brother-in-law Fran (Castiglione) and Jim Marshick and niece Joanna (Marshick) and husband Joe Dinello. A memorial luncheon will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, family suggests Memorial Tributes to either American Cancer Society or Hospice of Michigan.”

Photo: In this photo, 3-year-old John Castiglione sits in front of his father’s original store at Gratiot and Harper on Detroit’s east side.