John Arthur Courtois

COURTOIS, John Arthur- age 73, of Flint, formerly of Bradenton, FL, passed away on October 20, 2026. Cremation arrangements provided by Sharp Funeral Homes, Fenton Chapel. A private family service will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in John's memory would be appreciated to the American Lung Association. John was born on April 23, 1953, in Detroit, the son of Garth E. and Sally E. (O'Neil) Courtois. John attended Royal Oak Shrine Grade School and graduated from Dondero High School in 1972. He was employed for many years as a Machinist in the Defense Industry. John also was employed by Tropicana Products Inc. in Florida. He enjoyed studying geology, drafting, and working with various tools. John also was also proficient in working with electronics.

John is survived by his siblings, Kathleen (Doug) Farnell, William (Anne Finlayson) Courtois, Robert (Gay) Courtois, Elizabeth (Rand) Carter, James (Becky) Courtios. and Joanne Schell; and many nieces and nephews.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Garth and Sally Courtois; and siblings, Garth Courtois, Jr.,Donald Courtois, and Susan Pillsbury. Online tributes may be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com.

Farewell to our brother John

October 20th, 2026 by kayak woman

I’ve been calling him FlaMan (Florida Man) here on ababsurdo but his real name is John. He’s pictured above in his signature hat with the GG on the left. He was the GG’s bio brother (one year older and fourth out of 10 siblings) and brother of my heart, especially since we traveled to Florida a few years ago to rescue him from an untenable living situation and I got to know him better.

His health had been declining for a number of years and took a rather sharp turn during the summer. Even so, we didn’t get up this morning expecting this would be his last day.

I hope it’s okay if I say he was a little eccentric. I mean, most of us are, right? I’ll maybe tell stories related to some of his eccentricities someday but only when I have enough distance from this day to filter them a bit. It would be disrespectful to tell any today although they are a huge part of why we loved him.

I think he was grateful to us for moving him back to Michigan where all of his living siblings reside. Although we packed up his belongings and did the driving, all of those siblings played instrumental roles in relocating him to a safe place. So we can’t take all the credit by any stretch of the imagination.

In his last years, he greatly enjoyed visits from his siblings, nieces, and nephews and especially liked to get kisses from “pretty” girls. Believe it or not, this baggy old blahgger was one of those .

The Happy Dozen is down another one today. I loved him and we will all miss him. Godspeed John.