John Edgardo Aponte

John Edgardo Aponte, PsyD John Edgardo Aponte passed away peacefully at home on April 2nd, 2026. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Juan Aponte and Maria Santiago Aponte and moved with his family to New York City during childhood. He was a talented singer and sang in his early teens in a doo wop group and later as Lead singer in a young salsa group whose band leader would later become known as the legendary Willie Colon. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton HS and after graduation, John joined the NYPD. While serving his community as a police officer, he also continued in his collegiate studies. John earned his B.A. degree in Psychology from Herbert H. Lehman College and his M.A. degree in Community Psychology from New York University. He was awarded his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program. John is survived by his devoted wife, Paula, his beloved two children, Jasmine (John) Basil and John Paul, his brother Dixon (Sonia), and his sister Vivian (Vincent) Harris as well as other cherished family members and friends. John's interests and hobbies were varied. In his early 20's, he loved to ride his Peugeot bicycle all over the five boroughs. Later, he became an avid motorcyclist and loved to ride his bike on the open road living the Biker's motto of "Two wheels, One engine, No limits." He was also a talented handball and paddle ball player participating in tournaments in Orchard Beach in the Bronx. He was a phenomenal dancer who was always light on his feet. John was a voracious reader and especially loved Sci Fi genre like Dune and fantasy classics like The Lord of the Rings. His love of Sci Fi also manifested itself in his love of movies like The Lathe of Heavan, Star Wars and Star Trek, to name a few. He loved to swim and found it was the best exercise. He practiced Tai Chi which he did as part of his spiritual health and in later years as an additional form of physical therapy that he shared with others who also were impacted by Parkinson's. John served an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in both the Psychology and Special Programs departments. In addition to serving as a Police Officer in the New York City Police Department, he later became Staff Psychologist in the Psychological Services Unit. John joined Victim Services (now known as Safe Horizon) and developed a program focused on intimate partner and family violence. He worked closely with organizations such as Connect: Safe Families, Peaceful Communities. John was a trailblazer, known for his fierce advocacy on behalf of children and families, who touched many lives. People have spoken about his generosity in mentoring them and the role that he played in their lives. John had many different roles in life, but his most beloved were those with his closest family and friends the role of son, husband, father, brother, best friend. These were the roles that defined him. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in John's memory to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, donations@michaeljfox.org or Visiting Nurse Services, .

John Edgardo Aponte

August 14, 1947 - April 2, 2026