John was a leader in the New York City construction industry.  Upon his graduation from Manhattan College in 1987 John began his career with Turner Construction Company.  John served Turner as a Superintendent, a Purchasing Manager, a Project Executive and lastly he earned his position as a Vice President and the General Manager of Turner's Interiors construction group, and he thrived in that role for ten years.  Under his leadership and direction, the New York Interiors group grew to be recognized as one of the leading interiors contractors in New York.    


A native of Queens, John was always committed to having a positive impact on his community and making a difference in the lives of others. Through his leadership and his support of various organizations, John’s contributions were recognized.  He received the Victory Award for outstanding commitment to charitable giving from the Saint Dominic's Home. John also received the Francis Award from the St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters for his outstanding charitable works.  Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens recognized John’s charitable works and awarded him with The Progress of Peoples Achievement Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to creating secure homes for low-income seniors and families, the disabled and formerly homeless. Lastly John was recognized with the Good Scout Award for his contributions to New York area Scouting.

For anyone who knew John Thomann, we would all agree that he was taken from all of us far too soon.  His battle with melanoma began in 2009 and was valiant and served as an inspiration to those who knew him.  There are many adjectives that can be used to describe him.      


  • Committed, no one worked harder than John from his high school job pumping gas to his last days at Turner.  Coming to work every day, regardless of the effort that it took. He understood that people were counting on him and he refused to let them down.     


  • Interested, John took a genuine interest in everyone that he met and anything that might be their passion.  John would ask countless questions trying to understand the person through their interests.     


  • Passionate, John had many interests of his own and he was passionate about them.  He enjoyed muscle cars in particular his ’66 GTO.  He enjoyed Long Island, Mattituck, boating and fishing were also among John’s interests.  John loved and respected the military, in particular vintage military aircraft.  He shared his enthusiasm with others, encouraging many to join in.  Many Turner staffers spent Memorial Day sitting on a cold and wet Jones Beach to watch the annual airshow that John loved so much.    


  • Optimistic, The Mets, the Jets, the Islanders . . . nothing else needs to be said.    


Most of all John Thomann LOVED.  He loved his family.      


Kathleen, Jacqueline and James were undoubtedly the center of his world.  His brothers and sisters and other family members were all in John’s world as well.  He cherished his 30 year friendships with his classmates from Maria Regina HS. He loved the NY construction industry, his colleagues at Turner, especially “the boys and girls of Turner Interiors” as he would often say.  He loved the owner’s, especially the difficult ones, the architects and designers, the subcontractors and vendors but most of all John loved the challenges that we all face every day.

 The John A. Thomann Memorial Foundation is recognized as a public charity under the Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) status. The John A. Thomann Memorial Foundation EIN is 82-2760672. A copy of the John A. Thomann Memorial Foundation determination letter is available upon request.