John "Jive" Skrapits of Northampton passed away peacefully at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem on March 26, 2020. He was the loving husband of Anna Skrapits for 63 years. Named János at birth on December 21, 1929, in Szentpéterfa (Petrovo Selo) Hungary, he was the son of the late Vince and Johanna (Paukovits) Skrapits.

Rather than serving in Communist Hungary's military, he escaped into Austria in 1951 but was captured by Soviet occupation forces and turned over to Hungarian authorities. He was sentenced to 3 years of hard labor in a coal mine in Oroszlány for illegal border crossing and became the most productive out of thousands.

After marrying Anna in May 1956, and with the failure of the Hungarian Revolution, John and his wife decided to leave the village of their birth and crossed the border into Austria as refugees in November 1956. They arrived at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey through Operation Safe Haven in February 1957 and soon settled in Northampton to be near other family members. John made the most of the opportunities given to him in this country and lived the American Dream. He founded Northampton Concrete Form and Skrapits Concrete Company with his three brothers-in-law, which provided a very comfortable life for his family.

John was the ultimate storyteller; he especially enjoyed telling others of his time playing the Button box accordion in a band and often played at Hungarian gatherings in Northampton. He was proud of his heritage and his Croatian roots in Hungary, and he passed that onto his children. In addition to being a long-time Dallas Cowboys fan, he loved animals, sweets and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He was a member of Queenship of Mary Church and St. Peter and Paul Society, both in Northampton.

Survivors: Wife; son John M., son Andrew and his wife Kathleen (Kachmar), and daughter Juliann; and four grandchildren, Kristen, Brian, Bethany, and Chloe. He is also survived by his sisters, Maria Szoldatits in Canada and Rosa Kulcsar in Hungary. He was predeceased by his parents, brother Rudi, sisters, Hana and Paula, all in Hungary.

Services: A private burial service will be held this week, and a Memorial Mass will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. Online condolences may be offered above.

In lieu of flowers, any donations can be made to Queenship of Mary Church.