John James Stadler

John James Stadler passed away peacefully on February 23, 2025 at St. Anthony Hospital inGig Harbor, Washington. He was 96 years old. John was born on June 16, 1928 in Manteca, California to Robert and Juliana Dunst Stadler.The date coincided with his father's 36th birthday. John was the fourth of eleven children. Hissiblings were: Robert, Joseph, Elizabeth, Marianne, Josephine, Caroline, Rosemarie, Carl,Barbara, and Catherine. John's parents ran a dairy farm, with the help of a few hired hands.When John was 8 years old, he learned how to milk a cow. By the age of 9, he was spelling hisolder sister Elizabeth raking hay with a team of horses. John attended Rustic School, a two-room school house, from 1st Grade to halfway through 3rdGrade. He walked a mile to and from school, traveling through the family farm's alfalfa fields,across several irrigation ditches, and through adjoining neighbor's fields. When John was 10 years old, the family moved to a dairy farm outside of Oakdale, California,where he attended the Joint Oakdale Union School District grammar schools. John consideredhimself and his peers "middle-class." Years later, his sister Elizabeth corrected him, "We werenot middle-class. We were poor, but we were proud!" When John was 12, he began "serious work." He was assigned several cows to milk beforeand after school, hay to shock, and a derrick horse to teamster during haying season. Thatsummer, he worked for a neighbor, driving a team of horses for twelve days. He earned $1.50.Back in those days, a pair of Levi's cost about $3. John considered this the low point in hiswork history. When John was 14, his fortunes improved when he began working for neighbor AngeloMarchetti, a native of Italy, weeding acres of onions on his hands and knees. Marchetti paidJohn $0.35 an hour. One day, Marchetti told John's father, "John is a much better hand thanthose fellows from out of town, that I have to pay $0.50 an hour." John worked for Marchettifrequently. During World War II, John's older brother Joe was drafted into the Army; he served in Saipan,and Okinawa. Recognizing that their father needed more help on the family farm, John steppedup to assist, which necessitated him dropping out of high school halfway through hisSophomore year. Joe was discharged from the 11th Airborne Division in the summer of 1946,and returned to work on the family farm. At this point, John had the option of returning to highschool and eventually being drafted, or enlisting. Like many young men his age, John felt asense of patriotism, and chose to enlist. In October 1946, John enlisted in the Army. He chose the Airborne branch. Following entranceexams, the interviewing officer declared John was mechanically inclined and assigned him tothe Infantry. John chose the 11th Airborne Division, which was on occupation duty in NorthernJapan. The U.S. Congress declared World War II as officially ended on December 31, 1946,making John a World War II Veteran. Following a troop train ride from Camp Beale in California, John did Basic Training at FortBragg in North Carolina, John attended Jump School at Fort Benning in Georgia. To instill asense of confidence, potential paratroopers packed their own parachutes for their first fivequalification jumps off of 34-foot towers. John shipped out from Fort Lawton in Seattle, Washington on a troop ship, landing inYokohama, Japan in Mary 1947. He was assigned to the 187th Parachute infantry Regiment(PIR) at Camp Crawford, near Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture. He eventuallyended up in the Intelligence and Reconnaissance (I&R) platoon of Headquarters Company ofthe 187th. The 11th Airborne Division returned to the United States in the spring of 1949. Johnwas honorably discharged that August from Camp Campbell in Kentucky. In 1950, John used the G.I. Bill to further his education by attending a year long course inDiesel, Automotive, and Allied Mechanics at National Schools in Los Angeles, California,followed by a Diesel course at Adcox Auto and Aviation School in Portland, Oregon. In 1952, John began working for Morrison-Knudsen, an American civil engineering andconstruction company headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With the exception of two years withGreen Construction, John's career with MK spanned 36 years, ending with his retirement in1990. John's first job with Morrison-Knudsen was working on the Yale Dam, located on the LewisRiver near Amboy, Washington. He began as a shovel oiler, working his way up to Mechanic'sHelper, Heavy Duty Mechanic, and Mechanic Welder. By the time he was 27, he was promotedto MK Shop Foreman, running a crew of up to 24 men. Within 15 months, he was promoted toMechanic Foreman. In 1960, John was sent to Morrison-Knudsen's headquarters in Boise, Idaho, as their youngestever traveling Master Mechanic. At that time, he was the youngest travelingSoon after, he wentto work on hydro projects on the North Umpqua River in Oregon, and the Klamath River insouthern Oregon and northern California. While working on the Iron Gate Dam near Hornbrook, California, John met the love of his life,Raylyn Kinney. John first caught a glimpse of Raylyn at a diner in Yreka, California. The couplemet two days later, on January 30, 1961. Following a short courtship, John and Raylyn weremarried at the Yreka United Methodist Church on May 5, 1961. John and Raylyn's's daughter Julianne "Juli" was born in Boise, Idaho on January 30, 1963,two years to the day they first met. Their son Robert "Bob"was born in Boise, Idaho on June12, 1965. In 1965, John was assigned to his first overseas position for Morrison-Knudsen, erecting awalking Monaghan dragline in West Pakistan. n 1966, John was assigned to RMK-BRJ, a consortium of four of the largest Americanconstruction companies, put together by the United States Navy, for the purpose of buildinginfrastructure in South Vietnam. John served as Manager of Construction Equipment untilcontract completion in 1972. During that time, RMK-BRJ built most of the military bases, portsfor deep sea vessels, runways, airbase facilities, as well as many roads and bridges. John'swife and children joined him in Saigon for 4.5 years of the 6.5 years he was there. From June 1972 to 1974, John worked for Morrison-Knudsen in Hardin, Montana, beforereturning to work at company headquarters in Boise. It was while living in Montana that thefamily got their first pet, a male Siamese cat named "Piewacket." Like John's children,Piewacket became a world traveler, and shared many adventures with the family. From early 1974 to 1978, John worked for Morrison-Knudsen in Zaire (now the DemocraticRepublic of Congo) building the Inga-Shaba Transmission Line. John's family joined him. In 1978, John and his family returned to Boise, Idaho, where he worked for the next 12 years inthe capacity of a Corporate General Equipment Superintendent. The last few years, the prefixof "Senior" was attached to his title. John's travels and assignments during those years wereprimarily for the purpose of monitoring equipment and maintenance programs on projects eastof the Mississippi, as well as Zaire, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and New Guinea. In 1990, John retired from Morrison-Knudsen. Soon after, he and Raylyn moved to Fox Island,Washington. John kept busy tending to his tree farm near Elma, Washington, and writing hismemoirs. In 1992, John visited Poland at the request of International Executive Service Corps to lend hisexpertise. While there, he visited Auschwitz. It was a powerful experience. John's wife Raylyn died in 2015. During the last few years of her life, she suffered fromdementia. Though there were resources available, John chose to be her sole caregiver Johnchose to be her sole caregiver. Raylyn was buried next to her parents in the Etna, CaliforniaCemetery. While there, John noticed the lawn was dry, which he was told was due to the highcost of water. John organized and funded the drilling of a well for the Etna Cemetery District,which he dedicated in honor of Raylyn, and her mother Josephine Parker Kinney, who he heldin high regard. John credited "Mom and Dad, a few good teachers with paddle handy, and an early workethic" as the guiding forces in his life. He was intellectually curious and a lifelong learner, with aspecial interest in history. Family vacations to the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia,Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Hawaii, included visits to historical sites. John was a goodnatured optimist, who always saw the best in others. He did what he could to help those inneed. John was a devoted husband and father. He was a good son, a loving brother, and akind neighbor. John lived an interesting and fulfilling life, one that was filled with purpose. Hewrote three volumes of work-related memoirs, which are stored in the Morrison KnudsenArchives at Boise State University. His daughter hopes to have them published one day. Johnwas a prime example of the Greatest Generation. May the good Lord love him. I surely did... John is survived by his children, Julianne and Robert Stadler. He is also survived by hissiblings: Elizabeth Brichetto, Rosemarie Swain, Carl Stadler (Margaret), Barbara Gookin (Ed),Catherine "Kate" Leiva, and a large extended family of nieces and nephews. John waspreceded in death by his parents, his wife, and five siblings: Rev. Robert Stadler, JosephStadler, Marianne Orvis, Caroline Baley, and Josephine Stadler. There were also a number ofwonderful cats: Piewacket, Mij, Sassy, Petey, and Alex. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the doctors and nurses who cared forJohn at St. Anthony Hospital. The family also wishes to express their deep appreciation andgratitude to John's neighbors for their years of support and friendship. A private graveside service will be held at the Etna Cemetery on April 24, 2025.

John James Stadler

June 16, 1928 - February 23, 2025