John died April 14, 2006 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He was born in 1915 and a member of the Presbyterian Church when he was drafted into Civilian Public Service from Fergus Falls in 1943. His occupation at that time was listed as Farmer.

He was a CPS-103 jumper and was at Missoula for the 1944 and 1945 seasons. John had seven training and four fire jumps in 1944 and two training and four fire jumps in the 1945 season. He was discharged in December 1945.

After his discharge, John farmed and worked as a ranch hand in Minnesota. He enjoyed deer hunting making his last hunt in November at age 89.