John Alvin Femrite
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John's obituary
John Alvin Femrite
October 20, 1941 - May 18, 2023
John Alvin Femrite, beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, moved from this life into the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ on May 18, 2023 at 12:05 p.m. peacefully surrounded by his family, in the house he felt the most at home in.
John is survived by his wife Carole Jo Femrite, his children, Wendy McConnell, Michelle Williford and Brett Femrite, his grandchildren, Jack Ryan Langston, John McConnell, Sean McConnell, Colton Williford, Connor Williford, Madeline Williford, Lauren Williford, Haley Harvey and his great grandchildren, Keira Langston and Hendrix Merritt.
John Alvin Femrite was born in Madison, Wisconsin on October 20, 1941, to Thenora and Nels Femrite. He was the 4th born of 5 children.
As a young boy, he grew up in the country and spent many days playing outside and swimming in a nearby lake with his siblings, Nels, Mary, Sylvia and Glen.
After graduating from high school, John enlisted with the United States Navy. He endured rigorous training and testing to become a sonar technician. His position was to serve aboard every class of submarine in combat system equipment, where he had to identify, track and collect scientific undersea data used for boat defense and navigation. He was highly trained in underwater surveillance so as to warn of enemy threat or attack. John took many Navy tours on a submarine called the U.S.S. Cobbler. Some of the places the Navy stopped during these tours were Sicily and Rome, which included visits to the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral. He also toured Spain and France, as well as many areas in South America, including the Galapagos Islands, which are off the coast of Ecuador. John often reflected on his time in the Navy and how much he enjoyed it.
In 1961, John met Carole Jo Tasca at a weekly Friday night dance at Ocean Beach Park in Groton, Connecticut. Carole didn't really want to go to a dance on that particular night, but one of her friends persuaded her to go. There John walked up and asked her to dance! They continued to date until John finished his time in the Navy and they eventually married in 1964 and moved to Chicago so he could attend DeVry University. Many companies came and interviewed him for employment nearing graduation and John obtained his first job working for Honeywell Industries in New Haven, Connecticut as a Branch Manager.
After settling into their home, John and Carole desired to start a family and tried for 4 years to have a baby without success. They lovingly decided to adopt a child and after a long process, John and Carole welcomed their first child, Wendy Sue in 1968. Very quickly after that, Carole became pregnant with their second child in 1970, Michelle Diane and their third child in 1972, Brett Christopher.
In 1978, Honeywell transferred John to Houston, Texas. John was a dedicated family man, who spent time playing with and doing activities with his children. He brought them to many memorable events and attended their extracurricular events. During this season of his life, John endured and overcame many health challenges. He was a fighter and survived two triple bypass heart surgeries, a cardiac ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation, prostate cancer surgery and bleeding ulcers. John recognized that God was with him in every procedure and brought healing to his body. He approached everything with a positive attitude and bounced back quickly.
In 1982, John left Honeywell and obtained a job working for a company called MPact. There, John played an important role in the launch of Automatic Teller Machines, aka, "ATM's" that we now use today.
John continued to dream big and in 1990 accepted a job as Project Manager with EDS (Electronic Data Systems), which required a move to Plano, Texas, where he worked for several more years until retirement.
It was only fitting that after his retirement, John began working at his favorite store, The Home Depot, where he stayed for around 15 years! John was an exceptional carpenter who used his hands to skillfully create beautiful wood pieces for the home. He took wood shop in school which ignited a passion for woodworking.
Carole would simply describe to him what she wanted and he would calculate, design, construct and paint or stain the item. Some of the things he made that will always be remembered are his own workshop, a wet bar, shelving units, benches, a jewelry box, bird houses, a cradle, a toybox and a sandbox which had a roof that slid up and down to protect the kids from the sun by day and keep the sand clean when not in use. John enjoyed helping customers by giving advice on many home improvement projects, also building pieces out of wood to use as display samples to show customers what they could create with the tools they purchased.
John was a visionary who always had big goals that he was not afraid to work hard to accomplish. John set an example for his children and others with his hard work ethic, accentuating the positive in challenging situations and encouraging others to pursue their goals. He had a mild mannered and peaceful temperament and was able to remain calm in stressful situations. He was rarely heard raising his voice unless it was absolutely necessary. John had a wonderful sense of humor! The Bible says that "laughter does good like a medicine" and John could certainly make people laugh and continued cracking jokes even in his final days on this earth. He truly used his sense of humor as medicine to those who were down. Now he is laughing in great joy with the God who created him, and gave him that humor! His humor lives on in his children.
John left a distinctive trail on this earth and an impression upon many. He will be greatly missed her on this earth, but we are thankful that we will reunite with him in the glorious Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who overcame the grave so that we could live forever, in a beautiful eternity with him. We know that John is now completely whole and healed in heaven, without any pain or suffering, and we are grateful for the time he was given on this earth.
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