John Tye Rector's Obituary
John Tye Rector, 62, of Odessa, Florida, passed away on May 17, 2026, at his home on Lake Osceola — the kind of place that suited him, with water out the window and a dock to tend to.
Born in Tampa on July 11, 1963, John was a lifelong resident of Hillsborough and Pasco counties. He grew up on Lake Hiawathain Odessa, where his love of the water took root early. He was never far from a lake — an avid water skier in his teens and a devoted fisherman and kayaker throughout his life — and spent countless hours on the water with his father John and with his childhood friend Claudio Dominguez.
John graduated from Leto High School in 1981. At just 17, he began his first day as an apprentice with Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 15, eventually earning his journeyman card. He went on to be a welder at two nuclear power plants andcountless projects across the Tampa Bay area. That hands-on foundation shaped the engineer he would become. He returned to school and earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida in 1992, going on to a distinguished thirty-plus-year career at firms including Sanchez Engineering, Greiner, Inc., URS Corporation, and AECOM. A licensed Professional Engineer in Florida and Massachusetts, and a LEED AP BD+C, John was a recognized subject-matter expert in the design of mechanical systems for commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities — HVAC, piping, energy management and control systems, steam plants, tunnels, life-cycle cost analyses, and energy conservation. One of his last achievements in HVAC engineering was designing the cooling systems for the Columbia-class nuclear submarine program at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. He brought the same standard to every project: deep knowledge, practical experience, and uncompromising quality. He retired at the end of 2025, looking forward to time with the people and pursuits he loved most.
John was, by his own admission, a homebody — but his spirit came alive with his family and his work. The greatest joy of his life was his daughter, Luisa, of whom he was endlessly and openly proud. Some of their most cherished memories were childhood trips to the Tarpon Springs Aquarium, always followed by ice cream at the shop right next door, and the patient hours he spent teaching her to wakeboard, ski, fish, and drive his boat. John loved introducing her to lake life and relished their time on the water together — whether it was just to chat or to take her and her friends tubing and skiing. In recent years their time together grew simpler and meant just as much — anything they could do together. He also enjoyed time with his nephew Thatcher — painting the shed together, fishing off the dock, and talking about life. He found contentment in the everyday things: kayaking, hiking,
working in his yard and on his dock, and — most recently — welcoming home a Border Terrier puppy named Buddy, who brought a new kind of joy to his days.
While studying engineering at USF and drawing on the skills he'd honed as a sheet metal journeyman, John designed and welded his own professional-grade weight set that he used throughout his life — a small detail that said everything about how he moved through the world: capable, particular, and quietly proud of work done well.
John was preceded in death by his parents, John H. "Buddy" Rector and Hazel T. "Sandra" Rector. He is survived by his daughter, Luisa Alexandra Rector; his sisters Susan Caroline Justus (and her husband, Jody Justus) of Dallas, Texas, and Laura Rector Crouch (and her husband, Tripp Crouch) of Tampa, Florida; his nephews Thatcher Crouch and Andrew Crouch; his friend Claudio Dominguez; and his faithful companion, Buddy.
A graveside service was held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Trinity Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 12609 Memorial Drive, Trinity, FL 34655.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of him to the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Trail Association
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