John, 93, died March 27, 2008 of heart failure. He farmed in Pennsylvania in his early years.

He spent most of his working years in the dairy industry doing herd improvement and artificial insemination.

John later became a custodian at Northern Illinois University and at the high school where he lived in Rochelle, Illinois.

He jumped at Missoula 1943 as part of the CPS-103 smokejumpers during WWII.