 John was born on November 27, 1938 in Fargo, ND. On June 13, 1959, he married Lois Borden in Cooperstown, ND.
John and Lois had two sons: Click on a name below to go to their page. John graduated from Cooperstown High School in 1956 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy that same year. During the first ten years of Naval service, he was promoted through six enlisted grades to Chief Petty Officer. In 1986, John applied for and was promoted to Warrant Officer. After promotions to CWO2 and CWO3, John was promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. He retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant in 1976. Between 1960 and 1976, John deployed with Naval Aviation units in three aircraft carriers: U.S.S. Oriskany, CVA-34; U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, CVA-63; and the U.S.S. Midway, CVA-41. He earned the Navy Commendation Medal (two awards) and the Navy Achievement Medal (two awards) during this time. Because John was deployed so often for long periods of time during Marty and Eric's early childhood, Lois was left to raise the boys pretty much on her own. It's obvious that she did a great job. After retiring from the Navy, John worked as a flight instructor in San Diego, CA. He became the Chief Instructor of a flight school. He also became an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. In 1982, John went to work for Convair/General Dynamics. That business unit was purchased by Hughes Aircraft Company and, later, that HAC unit was purchased by Raytheon. John retired from Raytheon in Tucson, AZ in March 2001. In retirement, John gives flight instruction, does woodworking, builds web sites, volunteers with the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum's Aircraft Restoration Hanger and enjoys being in close proximity to his son Eric and his family. On December 24, 1993, John married Nancy Johnson of Richfield, MN. When Nancy, who still works for Raytheon, retires in early 2005, she and John will move to their new condo in Bemidji, MN.
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