John Calvin Repass

John Calvin Repass On January 23, 2011 our family lost the oldest son and our big brother John Repass. After a valiant four year battle with cancer, the good Lord decided he had suffered enough and took him home. Our loss leaves a void in our family that cannot be filled. We take solace in knowing that he was surrounded by family when he left on his next journey. John was a Christmas baby born in 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Benjamin and Helen Repass. At this time the war was on and our father, a military man, moved his small family often. After the war they settled on a small farm just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1957, after the tragic loss of our father and sister in a car accident our mother made the tough decision to move to Cashmere, Washington to be close to her mother. At the age of 13, John entered the Cashmere schools and graduated in 1961. During high school John developed his life long love affair with cars. We think he was born with motor oil in his veins. During his life he accumulated cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles. Other than his first two cars, until recently, he kept every car, van, truck and motorcycle he had ever owned. Throughout his life John was an eclectic collector. He loved his collections and knew where everything was and could find it at a moment’s notice in what appeared to be total chaos. John was the most organized unorganized person we’ve ever known. In 1964 he joined the army for a three year hitch. He attended basic training at Fort Ord, California then after A.I.T he went to Germany where he was the driver for the base commander. John also was an accomplished marksman winning a match between the U.S. Army and the German army. He got a day off work for that. He was very proud of that day off. In 1967 he returned home from the service and worked for the Washington State Highway Department as a beginning surveyor. He realized that this would be his career. He started his company and began working towards his Professional Land Surveyor’s license. It was a tough challenge and it took him three tries to pass the exam. After receiving his license, he changed the direction of his company towards land surveying and subdivision design and layout. Many of the subdivisions throughout the Wenatchee Valley were designed by John. John had been involved in the NCW Chapter of Land Surveyor’s Assoc. of Washington receiving the Award of Merit in 1983 and serving as Secretary–Treasurer and President at the local level. At the state level John served as State Trustee and Membership Chairman and was a speaker at the Spring Seminar at Portland Oregon. John was preceded in death by his father (Benjamin), sister (Eva) and brother (Benjamin Louis), and a nephew (Justin Jurzenski). He is survived by his daughter Sherri (David) and their two children, his mother Helen Repass, brother Tom Repass, sisters Louanne Brown, Connie Jurzenski (Ed), and Mary Cozzalio (Rick) and nieces Michelle, Hannah, Megan, Jessie, Nicole, and Christina, nephews Matt, Nathan, Jake, and Charlie. John was married 25 years to Barbara Tomlinson and together they raised Barbara’s three daughters, Theresa Flynn, Cindy Tomlinson, and Dee Dee Reiman. Who have seven children among them who called John, Papa. Special thank you to Home Health and Hospice, especially Michele Church for without her guidance, support and kindness our family would not have been able to help John on his journey to his new life and to Patrick Schroeder for his unending support, help and love to our family. The service will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Monday, January 31, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.at the Chapel, located at 625 South Elliott, Wenatchee, WA. Reception to follow at the church. Please express your thoughts and memories on the online guest book at jonesjonesbetts.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to Jones & Jones ~ Betts Funeral Home.

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John Calvin Repass

December 25, 1943 - January 23, 2011