August 14, 1933-December 23, 2024
John H. Linville passed December 23, 2024, in Montrose, Colorado. He was born August 14, 1933, in Harveyville, Kansas, to Nellie Jean (Stanford) and O.M. “Mike” Linville.
He was predeceased by sisters Barbara, Peggy, Laura Jean and brothers Warren, Tom and Jimmie, all World War II veterans, as well as their parents.
During the Korean War, he served in the U.S. Marines from 1951 – 1953, including time spent at the Osaka Japan Hospital for 3 months and serving in essential construction in Japan for a year.
Following his honorable discharge, he worked as an equipment operator and lumber jack in Idaho, then spent a stint at Seattle Boeing Aircraft before returning to his home state of Kansas. John continued to work in the construction field while also fixing up the home place in Burlingame where his parents still lived. In the memoir of his brother-in-law, Dick Snider, John at 29 was remembered as a young giant. Dick wrote: “He looks like a Marine or a bouncer, and he has been both … Right now, he’s a cement finisher and a good one. Often his workday runs 14 hours, or more. On short days, and on weekends, he also does cement jobs in and around Burlingame. On Sunday, he catches for an assortment of semi-pro baseball teams, hunts and fishes, and shoots skeet. Last Sunday he hit 24 or 25 in competition.”
Dick also shared another moment with John. “He took a back road into Topeka, one that I’d never seen. At one point, he slowed his pickup truck. ‘Last night,’ he said, “right about here, I saw one of the most beautiful sights I’ll ever see. There were a doe and a fawn in the road. When I came along, they jumped that fence and went off through that timber.’” John continued working in the construction field in Kansas but during the winters he moved to California to continue working. It was there that he met Maggie (Garcia) Linville. They married on October 30, 1964, in Palm Desert, California and John made a permanent move. They spent 55 years sharing what John described as “a good life.” The happy couple lived in Los Angeles and Cathedral City in California as well as the Pleasant Valley area in Ridgway, Colorado, before moving to Montrose where they enjoyed life together until Maggie’s time of death May 2018.
During John’s retirement years, John enjoyed golf, reading and volunteering for veteran’s organizations. John organized several golf tournaments in the Montrose area to raise money to buy the first van to transport area veterans to their medical appointments at the Grand Junction VA Medical Center. He also drove the van and made the 120-mile round-trip on a regular basis. John was recognized for his distinguished service to Moore-Demoret Chapter 17, Disabled American Veterans with a certificate and engraved plaque honoring his past and continuing dedication and commitment to the unit. He also treasured his time with many great friends and as he’s said, “They know who they are.”
Surviving family members include numerous nieces and nephews as well as close family friends.
To honor John’s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service. We invite you to please privately celebrate his memory in your own ways. John will be with us all in his generous and memorable spirit. John didn’t like to be fussed over and would rather give than receive.
