John was born in Jamestown, South Australia, and grew up on a farm.
His father died suddenly in 1943 and his mother struggled to make ends meet as they were renting property at the time.
John left school after completing Year 7 and soon learned to shear.
He worked as a shearer through all of south-east South Australia.
While at high school he met his wife-to-be, Enid, and they married in 1951.
They then decided to make a new life in Victoria and settled on a piece of land at Warrenbayne that John described as "rough".
However, through hard work and diligence they became successful farmers.
They became involved in the community and John joined the Benalla Lions Club in early 1977.
He quickly became involved in a wide range of club projects.
He became the club president in just his second year as a Lion and served a second term as their leader in 1995-96. He had a total of 18 years on the board of directors.
John was Lions Youth Exchange chairman for 13 years and through those years many Benalla teenagers benefited from an extended overseas experience because of his outstanding efforts.
John's contribution to Lions was honoured with Life Membership in 2002 and a Melvin Jones Fellowship Award in 2011.
John’s community commitment also included serving as a councillor for the Benalla Shire from 1988 until its demise in 1994 when amalgamations took place.
Of course, John and Enid were active in the Warrenbayne community.
They had four children; Gwen, Ray, Geoff and Jude.
Enid supported John in everything he undertook and was involved with Lions Ladies.
Sadly, the passing of Enid in 2010 was a blow for John.
Some time later he developed a special friendship with Tricia Veale who had been a long-time friend of John and Enid.
This gave John a new lease on life and he introduced Tricia to the Lions Club and she became a respected and valued member.
Tragically, Tricia succumbed to cancer in January 2017 and John struggled with the loss of her wonderful support.
In June of the same year, he went into full-time care at Cooinda.
John was the source of many interesting and sometimes amusing stories.
He once related how his first car was an old T-Model Ford and he broke a crown wheel and had to fit another differential.
He put it in the wrong way and the result was one forward and two reverse gears.
He was a wonderful contributor to our community and has left a significant legacy that must be source of great pride for his family.
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