John R. Deakin in 1955.
Also known as: John Robert Deakin
Born: October 13, 1939, Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died: July 28, 2021, United States
Nationality: American
Family: Deakin
Glassworking relatives:
- Grace S. Deakin (stepmother)
- John L. Deakin (father)
- Nona H. Deakin (mother)
- Ethel Maude Howell (grandmother)
- Grace M. Howell (aunt)
- Leigh B. Howell (uncle)
- Marie S. Howell (aunt)
- Robert M. Howell, Sr. (grandfather)
- Robert M. Howell, Jr. (uncle)
- Verna E. Howell (aunt)
Active: [at least 1951-1957]
Associated acts:
Brief biography
John R. Deakin was born to John L. Deakin and Nona Deakin (née Howell) in Newark, New Jersey, in 1939. His parents were both lampworkers, and he may have begun to learn some glassworking skills as early as the age of three. His mother died in 1944, and his father remarried to a woman named Grace. The family relocated to Sarasota, Florida, around 1948.
His father and stepmother opened and ran a tourist attraction in Sarasota, where they demonstrated lampworking to the public. They taught Deakin to lampwork at the age of 12, and he demonstrated in the shop through his teenage years. Deakin did not enjoy glassworking, and once he graduated high school he left to become a pilot.
