John passed away peacefully on November 10, 2009 after an extended illness. At his
side were his
wife and three sons. John was born in San Francisco on February 12, 1928, where
he grew up and
attended Polytechnic High School (’45). After graduation, he joined the US Army
where he served
in Korea. He returned home to attend UC Berkeley (BS ’51). For the next 39 years,
John was a
CPA/tax partner with Coopers and Lybrand and was elected to the US Firm Council.
He believed that a worthy life demanded service to others, and was a Board Member/Trustee
for
many organizations during his working career and well into his retirement. These
included The Boys
& Girls Clubs of SF, Rotary Foundation, Golden Gate University, Fremont Bank, Surbeck
Foundation and others. John was also a longtime member of the NRA, Navy League,
Cal Alumni
Association, SF Rotary Club (a Paul Harris Fellow), Macleod Society, St. Andrews
Society and the
California Society of CPA’s.
John loved being with his family whenever possible. The family shared his enjoyment
of the
outdoors, politics, and things that go “bang.” His direction to us would be to stick
together, set a
direction and just do it. We will miss him dearly and will look forward to his welcome
when we
have also finished our work.
John is survived by his wife of 51 years, Sharon; three sons, John, Michael and
Thomas; their loving
wives; and 8 beautiful grandchildren. The family will hold private gatherings. In
lieu of flowers,
please send gifts in his name to The Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco at 55
Hawthorne Street,
Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105-3930 or at
www.kidsclub.org.