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Obituary

Retired barber, 77, dies in fall off ladder

John English, known for being friendly and spry, was working on his Crystal Beach home when he fell about 25 feet to the ground.

By RICHARD DANIELSON
Published May 6, 2005

CRYSTAL BEACH - A 77-year-old man died Thursday after falling from a ladder he was using to work at his home on Georgia Avenue, authorities said.

Retired barber John W. English was using the ladder to remove an old piece of television cable from high up on his home about 9 a.m. He fell about 25 feet, landing on the ground next to the house, according to Palm Harbor Fire Rescue. Rescuers flew him to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he was pronounced dead.

English, who used to own Johnny's Barbershop in Clearwater, was a familiar sight in Crystal Beach, often working around his home or saying hello to neighbors as he rode his bicycle.

"He was fit as a fiddle, and he was always working on his house," said John Himmelman, 41, who lives across the street.

Last summer, English used a ladder to put up and take down hurricane shutters, politely declining his neighbors' offers of help.

"He was up and down that ladder like a rabbit," said neighbor Art Medlock, 43.

English and his wife, Judy, were scheduled to have new windows delivered Thursday and were going to have their roof replaced soon. Mrs. English said she hadn't realized that he planned to prop the ladder on the second-floor balcony so he could get to the TV cable.

Mrs. English said she hoped what happened to her husband would discourage someone else from getting on a ladder when they should not.

"If it would prevent someone else from falling . . ." she said, adding that a chaplain at Bayfront Medical Center told her that the hospital often sees fatalities resulting from older people trying to use ladders.

Falls account for 29 percent of injury deaths among adults 65 and older, according to the American College of Surgeons. Older adults are five times more likely to be hospitalized due to falls than to injuries from other causes.

English, who was born in Salisbury, Md., and grew up in New Jersey, always had an independent and self-reliant streak, his family said.

At 17, he left high school and lied about his age to get into the Navy. He served as a radio operator during World War II and served again during the Korean War.

He and Mrs. English were married in 1956 and raised four children: Kelly Cornicelli, 40, of New Port Richey; Christopher English, 47, of Clearwater; Vicki Maynes, 48, of El Segundo, Calif., and Kathy Cummins, 48, of Rancho Mirage, Calif. In addition to his wife and children, English is survived by five grandchildren.

Staff writer Jacob H. Fries and researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 6, 2005, 00:38:16]