John F. Romano was born in 1949, in Framingham, Mass. In 1954, his family moved to Lake Worth and West Palm Beach, Florida. John graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, in June 1967. In his senior year of high school, he served as Senior Class President and he received numerous athletic honors, including being named to several high school football All-America Squads as a running back. Upon graduation from high school, John accepted a football scholarship from Florida State University and went on to attend law school at South Texas College of Law in Houston, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in August 1973. Following law school, John clerked for the law firm of Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson & McKeown while preparing for the Bar exam. He was admitted to practice law in the state of Florida on May 10, 1974. He then fulfilled his military obligation, serving for three years in the United States Marine Corps, an experience which John recalls as "one of the greatest and most fulfilling experiences of my lifetime." During his years with the Marine Corps, he served as a trial lawyer with the "J.A.G. Corps" as a Captain with the Second Marine Division. He received numerous honors in the Marine Corps, including recognition for trial advocacy, leadership, and organizational skills.