Oh, Deere, the birth of a fabulous newspaper career

Ken Krause, who went from BJ sports editor to community activist living on Mystic Street in Medford, Massachussetts, tells a great story about how a baby-faced Springfied High student in a John Deere cap became a newspaper legend.




Doug Oplinger
without John Deere cap

Let Ken tell it:

“Doug Oplinger hit the ground running as a Beacon Journal stringer in March 1971, writing several articles about the ousted superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools.

“His first byline appeared on Page A1 on March 9, 1971, above a story co-written with Bill Hershey, who had recruited the then-Springfield High senior at a school board meeting.

“Hershey provided this vignette to Harry Liggett for the ABJ Alums Blog in 2007, after Doug was named managing editor: ‘I was covering a Springfield school board meeting in the fall of 1970 and noticed an earnest young man in the crowd. We introduced ourselves and he said he was a student – Doug Oplinger.

“I think he was monitoring the meeting for some student group. I told him to call me if he was ever at a school board meeting when news broke out and I wasn’t there.

“I don’t remember how many months later it was but during a snowstorm that shut down everything in Akron – at least we thought it did – I got a phone call at my apartment one night. It was Oplinger, reporting that the school board had fired the superintendent during a meeting held during the blizzard. Op, as I recall, got a front page byline the next day and the rest is history.”

Doug began working under the frenetic genius of the State Desk, Pat Englehart, and the curmudgeon with a hidden heart and passion for journalism Harry Liggett.

Tomorrow – Friday, March 10 – Doug will retire from Ol’ Blue Walls with the title of managing editor.
 

Pat, Harry and “Go to hell” Fran are beaming down on Doug. So am I, but I’m not in the Great Beyond … yet.
 

Well done, Doug. A tip of the John Deere cap to you.

Lynne Sherwin added:

“We will gather at the Barley House Friday after 5 p.m. for a proper Beacon Journal sendoff for Doug. Company farewell is at 4 p.m. in the northeast corner.”

 

 

 

John Anspach’s wife passes away

Carol Anspach, wife of long-time Cuyahoga Falls High baseball coach and current Cuyahoga Falls Amateur Association coordinator John Anspach, passed away Tuesday, March 7.

As a Class G manager and CFABA board member because I was Class H president for more than a decade, I spent a lot of time working with John, who often would assign children with difficulties to my team because he knew I would try to help them.

This was in the days when Glen Winsett and Al Coy were the “founding fathers” of the organization.

Carol and John’s son, David, played baseball on another team when I managed the Cougars and later Cameros in the Class G league for 11 and 12 year olds.

Carol’s obituary:

Carol Ann Anspach (Kreglow)

CUYAHOGA FALLS -Carol Ann Anspach, 79, passed away peacefully at home on March 7, 2017 after a long battle with dementia. Carol was born December 2nd 1937 in Troy, Ohio to the late James and Roberta Kreglow. Carol graduated from Ada High School in 1955 where she was homecoming queen. She graduated with a degree in education from The Ohio State University where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. Carol was married June 7, 1959. She taught 2nd and 4th grades in Defiance, Ohio. In 1965 they relocated to Cuyahoga Falls and she became a fulltime mom. Carol enjoyed shopping, music, reading and spending time with her family. She was a huge Neil Diamond fan. Carol was an active member in the Grandview United Methodist Church and enjoyed the Chancel Choir and Bell Choir.

Preceded in death by her parents; brother, Jim Kreglow and Sara Jane Riley; she is survived by her loving husband, John M. of 57 years; children, John Charles of Stow, Susan (Bryan) Nace of Fairlawn, David (Kristine), of Cuyahoga Falls, Amy (Rick) Henkel of Stow and Mark (Angelique) of Cuyahoga Falls; grandchildren, Emily, Tyler, Justina, Lance, Kevin, Alan, Jacquelynn, Gabrielle, and Jenevieve.

Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, 2017 in the Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221. Friends may also call one hour prior to an 11 a.m. funeral on Friday, March 10; service at the Grandview United Methodist Church, 2315 Phelps Ave., Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223, Pastor Paula Koch will be officiating. Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery (Ada, Ohio). In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Grandview United Methodist Church. To view tribute video, send condolences or sign the guest book visit www. cliffordshoemaker.com .

 

Former BJ reporter Korte nails Sessions

Former BJ reporter Greg Korte, USA Today White House correspondent,  reports that Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, met twice with the Russian ambassador during Trump’s Presidential campaign.

Sessions and Putin’s guy met at the Republican Convention in Cleveland and in Sessions’ office.

Senators often meet with foreign ambassadors, but Sessions said at his Senate hearing that he didn’t have meetings with the Russians, who tried to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which didn’t hurt Trump’s chances with the American electorate.

Did Russian hacking affect the outcome of the U.S. presidential election?

To read Korte’s article, click on the blue http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/what-white-house-knew-about-jeff-sessions-meetings-with-russian-

Later, Greg added this information:

“I was at the Lorain Morning Journal when Mizell Stewart III hired me for the Stark County Bureau in 1997. I spent about a year there and then moved to the Akron City Hall beat.

“I didn't want to leave, but there were buyouts/layoffs and I was low enough on the seniority chart that I fled to the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2001.”

Korte lives in Bethesa, Maryland. His email address is gregorykorte@gmail.com

March 10 is Oplinger’s final BJ day

BJ Managing Editor provides better details on his impending retirement, which will be effective March 10:

“John:

“Sorry, I was on the mountaintop with old editors who continue to tilt at windmills trying to save journalism.

“Just now looking at the Facebook comments and the BJ Alums blog item. It's fine.

“Here's what I wrote on Facebook:

“Time to clean the desk one last time. Announced Friday I am leaving the Akron

Beacon Journal after 46 years of trying my best to serve the public with accurate and empowering information. Last day is March 10 (that's a change from previous post).

“New adventure: The Ohio Media Project/Your Voice Ohio, working with reporters and editors across the state and engagement organizations such at the Jefferson Center and National Institute for Civil Discourse in establishing a trusting relationship between news media and the communities we serve.

“Without a functioning credible press, communities and the nation will not know of the problems for which we need solutions. To old friends who post links today attacking the mainstream media, suggesting we are the fakes, you have no idea how much it hurts. We work hard to serve you. We're now committed to experimenting with new ideas in the next few years in order to restore the trust that is so vital for democracy.

“I guess I'm saying I'm not retiring.

“Doug”

I think the “tilting at windmills” might be a reference to my life-long motto. It’s from Don Quixote in “The Man From La Mancha,” who tilts at the windmills of injustice. I’ve made it a life-long passion, in my newspaper career, working with children in  baseball and other public domains.

 

When Paula and I were in Spain I made it a point to go to the statue of Quixote on horseback and patted my role model on his head and his steed's butt. It was like American forces showing up in Europe saying "Lafayette, we are here."

Doug and I both realize the value of pursuing “the impossible dream.” The only difference is that Doug does it wearing a John Deere cap and I do it wearing a West Virginia Mountaineers cap.

Whatever works.

Staffer Stephanie Warsmith added this information:

“We received the very sad news late Friday that our newsroom will shrink once again, either through buyouts of layoffs. The company is looking to cut 7-8 positions.

“This will include the departure that has already happened of Cavs reporter Jason Lloyd and Managing Editor Doug Oplinger.

“We’re hoping enough people will take buyouts so that there will be no layoffs. Very sad sense of deja vue here.”

In 2006 the BJ eliminated one-fourth the work force.

In 2008 the BJ lost about 350 combined years of experience in one day. 

BJ isn’t alone. American newspapers eliminated 13,000 jobs by 2009. The attrition keeps coming.

Doug’s new work address:

doplinger@yourvoiceohio.org

 

Mark’s book is The Good Book

Mark Dawidziak

Free-lance writer Wendy Wright writes a glowing review of PD and former BJ pop culture critic Mark Dawidziak’s book, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone.”

That, of course, was after I taught him everything he needed to know from his TV Editor at the BJ. Yeah, right.

Mark has written so many outstanding books that I’ve lost count. He is my favorite student.

To read Wendy’s words of wisdom about Mark, click on the blue http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/books/2017/02/26/Book-review-Everything-I-Need-to-Know-I-Learned-In-The-Twilight-Zone-Mark-Dawidziak/stories/201702260035

Oplinger, Hoffman retiring; BJ offers buyouts

My sources tell me that BJ Managing Editor Doug Oplinger and editorial writer Steve Hoffman are retiring.

And the BJ is offering buyouts again to forestall layoffs.



Doug Oplinger

The word I get is that 3 reporters, 1 copy editor, 1 page designer and 1 photographer will take the buyouts.

But I also got word from a reliable source that we won’t know the total till management sees how many commit to the buyouts.

I remember when Doug first showed up at the Beacon Journal, baby-faced under his John Deere cap and still in high school when Bill Hershey recruited him at a Springfield School Board meeting, and into the world of Pat Englehart, the Tasmanian devil whirlwind of an editor, and Harry Liggett, a guy with a gruff exterior who set traps for any reporter who tried to bullshit her way in defense of an article that H.L. was editing.

Pat and Harry taught me, who came to Ol’ Blue Walls at the age of 38, way more about being an editor than I had learned before I came to 44 East Exchange Street.

And taught Doug, too. Lessons I’m sure that helped him as managing editor in a stressful and difficult time for newspapers.

At its peak there were about 250 in the BJ newsroom. Today, according to the staff list, there are 63 if you include vice president/editor Bruce Winges, Doug and everyone with a title and the reporters.

And that number will get perilously close to 50 by the time the buyouts are finalized.

Those remaining will not have an easy task on a newspaper that earned four Pulitzer Prizes.

Trumpsters detain Holocast historian

The latest victim of Donald Trump’s “keep out the terrorists” policy is – ready for this – French Holocaust historian Henry Russo.

Rousso is an Egyptian native and French citizen. But he was detained for 10 hours when he landed in Houston on a flight from Paris.

Why? Paranoia about anyone with "Muslim" skin color, apparently.

The Texas A&M president got Fatma Marouf, who played a major role in shooting down Trump’s ban against refugees, to get the detention lifted.

Rousso was released to give his lecture.

Rousso, a Jew, was exiled from Egypt in 1956 under Nasser’s anti-Semitic regime.

Rousso said: "It is now necessary to deal with the utmost arbitrariness and incompetence on the other side of the Atlantic. What I know, having loved this country forever, is that the United States is no longer quite the United States."
 

 

The Post’s new tocsin

The Washington Post’s new motto, under its masthead:

“Democracy dies in darkness.”

With Trump’s full-court suppress the press tactics, it’s a timely warning.

Thomas Jefferson put it bluntly:

"The press [is] the only tocsin of a nation. [When it] is completely silenced... all means of a general effort [are] taken away." 

For those who don’t know, tocsin is a warning bell.

When a leader calls a free press “the enemy of the people,” it’s take to head for the ramparts of public opinion and head off the dictatorship.

Hitler hated a free press. Stalin hated a free press. South American dictators hated a free press. Trump is in some frightening company.

To read the article about the Washington Post added its tocsin slogan, click on the-washington-posts-dark-new-motto-is-pure-branding-genius

Jan Leach on Trump banning of some media

If you want to watch the video of Jan Leach talking about the Trump White House banning media that doesn’t worship the ground he walks on, click on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGs252_Pa8

As most of you know, Jan is on the Kent State faculty after being Editor of the BJ.

Trump policy: Genuflect or reject

WTF time at the Trump/Bannon White House

The White House blocked a number of news outlets from covering spokesman Sean Spicer’s question-and-answer session on Friday afternoon. 

Spicer held an off-camera “gaggle” with reporters inside his West Wing office instead of the traditional on-camera briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.  

Among the outlets not permitted to cover the gaggle were news organizations President Trump has singled out for criticism, including CNN. 

The New York Times, The Hill, Politico, BuzzFeed, the Daily Mail, BBC, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Daily News were among the other news organizations not permitted to attend.

Journalists from several right-leaning outlets were allowed into Spicer’s office, including Breitbart, the Washington Times and One America News Network. 

A number of major news organizations were also let in to cover the gaggle. That group included ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Reuters, Bloomberg and McClatchy. 

Reporters from The Associated Press and Time magazine were allowed into the gaggle but refused to attend. 

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) sharply criticized the decision. 

Journalists gathered in the briefing room to await the gaggle. When aides came to gather the pool, those who were not selected were turned back by Grisham in the West Wing hallway leading to Spicer's office. 

 

After some reporters voiced their frustration with the arrangement, Grisham asked a uniformed Secret Service officer to tell them to leave the hallway. 

The incident escalated Trump’s long-running feud with the media.

The president repeatedly slammed the “dishonest media” earlier Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, while also saying he respects the First Amendment. 

“I love the First Amendment; nobody loves it better than me. Nobody,” he said. 

“But as you saw throughout the entire campaign, and even now, the fake news doesn't tell the truth,” he continued. “I say it doesn't represent the people, it doesn't tell and never will represent the people, and we're going to do something about it.”

I wonder what John Knight, who refused to vote for Richard Nixon because he was so corrupt, would do today.

Thomas Jefferson disagrees with Trump and Bannon.  Jefferson said a free press, even when its writes things that politicians don't like, is essential to a sound democracy.

This sure sounds like "The Emperor Has No Clothes" conundrum. Genuflect or eject is the order of the day. Breitbart, to the right of Attilla the Hun, gets in, but CNN doesn't.

Adolph Hitler is dancing on his grave.

 

View from Moscow: Trump is Putin’s puppet

 

 

Mikhail Fishman is the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Times, an English-language weekly newspaper published in Moscow. The paper is critical of Vladimir Putin; indeed, it was targeted twice in 2015 by Russian hackers and has been attacked repeatedly by pro-Kremlin pundits.

 

He describes President Trump as Putin’s puppet.

To read the article, click on http://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/2/22/14697718/donald-trump-putin-russia-kremlin-hillary-clinton 

Dick Gresock’s wife passes away

Lorraine Gresock, wife of BJ Composing retiree Dick Gresock, passed away Friday, February 17.

They were married 58 years.

Dick, the late Kenny Wright and I were a Composing/Newsroom partnership that ushered in the computer age in the newsroom and back shop.

Lorraine Gresock

Dick and I did a lot of formatting work together before the computers were improved enough so that every editor and reporter could do it without formatting.

Pat Englehart was the BJ’s first newsroom electronics coordinator. I succeeded Pat and trained the first person in the newsroom on the first terminal in the newsroom. Then my techie skills made me the TV Editor because Channels was the most complex formatting required.

Dick and I often shared monthly BJ retirees gatherings at Papa Joe’s in the Valley. Ken also showed up a few times.

Lorraine’s obituary:

Dick Gresock

Lorraine Gresock

Lorraine Gresock, age 82 of Granger Township, passed away on Friday, February 17, 2017 after a brief battle with cancer; her loving family was by her side. She was born on July 10, 1934 in Indiana, Pennsylvania to Earl J. and Marie (nee Krug) Lieb. Richard (Dick) Gresock and Mary were married on June 20, 1959.

Lorraine was a homemaker and a devoted wife, mother and a friend to many. She enjoyed playing cards, Bunko, bowling and traveling.

She will be dearly missed by her husband, Dick; children, Marie (Robert) Elium, Richard (Jackie) Gresock, John (Teresa Holland) Gresock, Kathy (Jeff) Yarian; grandchildren, Jacob (Jen) and Elizabeth Elium, Logan, Lauren Gresock, Joshua, Adam, Tricia Holland-Gresock, Tyler, Nathan and Evan Yarian; brother, Earl John Lieb; sister, Connie Davis; and a wide circle of friends.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2017 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Carlson Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, 3477 Medina Road (corner of River Styx & Rt. 18), Medina, Ohio 44256. Mass of Christian Burial on Monday, February 20, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. (please meet at church). Holy Martyrs Church, 3100 Old Weymouth Road, Medina, Ohio 44256. Fr. Stephen Dohner officiating. Cremation will then take place.

330-722-5888

Published in Akron Beacon Journal from Feb. 18 to Feb. 19, 2017

Woody Williams passes away

William “Woody” Williams, who spent 42 years at the BJ, in the mailroom packaging department, passed away February 13.

Woody’s obituary:

Woody Williams

William "Woody" Williams

William (Woody) Williams passed away peacefully on February 13, 2017 surrounded by his family. He was 93 years old.

Woody was preceded in death by his wife, Gerry; son, Jack; parents, Richard and Kittie; and brother, Jack Williams. Woody was a kind and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. For those of us who knew Woody we are all the better for it.

Woody was a graduate of East High School, and an employee of the Akron Beacon Journal for 42 years. He loved to bowl, golf, and play euchre at the Jednota Club. His main love was horse racing.

Woody is survived by his children, David (Irene) Williams, Patty (Tom) Tubbs, and Steven (Robin) Williams; grandchildren, David, Mark, Trisha, Eric, and Kelly; great-grandchildren, Matthew, Michael, Allie, Kendall, Hailey, Mya, Kylee, and Brody; and many dear friends. The family would like to thank the entire staff at Green Village for their kind and loving care.

In keeping with Woody's wishes, there will be a private memorial service for the family. Dads hold our hands for a little while and hold our hearts forever. In lieu of flowers, if you wish, please make a memorial donation in Woody's name to Green Village Activity Fund, 708 Moore Road, Akron, Ohio 44319. (ADAMS MASON FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY, 330-535-9186)

Published in Akron Beacon Journal on Feb. 19, 2017

Rosa Parks’ rent angel dies

The guy who quietly paid Rosa Parks’ rent in Detroit for more than a decade passed away Friday.

That would be Mike Ilitch, the Little Caesars founder and Detroit Tigers owner.

For more than a decade, Ilitch paid for Rosa Parks' Riverfront Apartments rent in downtown Detroit, according to CNN affiliate WXYZ.

That story came to light thanks to Damon Keith, a Detroit native and federal judge.

"They don't go around saying it, but I want to, at this point, let them know, how much the Ilitches not only meant to the city, but they meant so much for Rosa Parks, who was the mother of the civil rights movement," Keith told WXYZ.

Read More

Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon, died in 2005.

 

Her refusal to move to the back of the bus so whites could have a better seat sparked the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. Parks later moved to Detroit.

Guess who's coming for dinner at the Kovatch house?

Ol’ Blue Walls retirees are gator magnets

Former BJ vice president/finance and administration John Kovatch had interesting “company” show up on his propety.

Let John explain:

“The neighborhood gator was sunning himself today and sharing the shoreline with a couple of birds. I decided to swim in the pool, rather than the lake.”




Carolyn and John Kovatch without the gator visitor

At least John’s alligator isn’t as bold as the one who spent the night in the garage of retired BJ printer Dick Latshaw. It seems Dick didn’t close his garage door sufficiently so the gator took that as an invitation to look around the Latshaws’ Pawleys Island, South Carolina home.

Wife Pat’s understandable admonition to Dick: “Always close the %$$# garage door.”

The Kovatches own homes in The Villages, Florida and in Green. John and Carolyn bought a home in The Village of Charlotte. Paula's house is in The Village of Silver Lake.

John’s career included University of Akron associated vice president/controller, Knight-Ridder vice president finance and administration, Ernest & Young CPA, and currently JEK Accounting Service before his Kent State and Euclid High days.

He’s from Massillon, Ohio.

The alligators live wherever they want.

Ernie Pyle, America’s #1 war correspondent

 

Ernie Pyle, war casualty

Sorry I missed it but the most famous war correspondent in World War II, Ernie Pyle, died 72 years ago yesterday.

It was February 18, 1945.

Pyle, who interviewed the grunt soldier rather than the generals, was killed by Japanese machinegun fire on the island of Ie Shima in the Pacific.

Pyle was born in Dana, Indiana, and earned his Pulitzer Prize while dodging enemy fire. He was imbedded before it became a national term.

Sharon Downing, her son Jonathan, his daughter Piper, John Olesky
meet on street in The Villages, Florida   
-- photo by Paula Tucker
 

Bumping into BJ memories

Even though there are 120K living in The Villages, Florida, it feels like a tiny town of 500 when you go to events.

We regularly run into people we know. I run into fellow Mountaineers from my native West Virginia.

First, former BJ State Desk reporter Paula Tucker and I encountered a couple from Keyser, West Virginia. I asked them if they knew the BJ’s most famous Keyser imports, former managing editor Scott Bosley (today a Kalamazoo, Michigan retiree) and former contrarian sports columnist Tom Melody (still lurking in Akron, I think).

Keep in mind that both are in the Keyser High School Hall of Fame in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle, where some of its scenery is described by John Denver in “Country Roads,” which has been proclaimed as the official state song (Denver sang it at the 1980 opening of the new Mountaineer Field and WVU fans sing it after every WVU sports victory, which happens a lot these days).

The response of the kouple from Keyser: “Well, there’s a Melody Music Store.”

I guess newspaper fame doesn’t make you a legend in Keyser.

On our way to the parking lot after the Spanish Springs Arts & Crafts Festival (there’s one every 37 minutes somewhere in The  Villages), Paula and I met Sharon Downing, widow of long-time BJ printer Hugh Downing; their son, Jonathan Downing of Toledo, Ohio;  and Jon’s daughter, Piper Downing (which reminded me of my VERY exciting ride with 200-foot drops and rises in a Piper Cub in Florida during my sportswriting days; it couldn’t get enough rpm’s to take off safely from Gainesville after the Gators’ football game, so we switched to a Comanche, a much larger plane by comparison, for our return to St. Petersburg and the safety of Nelson Poynter's Times).

Hugh – who had lived in The Villages for a couple of decades -- arranged the tee times every Thursday during the winters (a different course every time since there are about 70 to choose from) for former BJ State Desk reporter Bob Page, who works for God now as a minister, and me, the free-spirit Polish-Italian-American Mountaineer.

I rarely go anywhere without my WV shirt and WV cap and WV socks and WV underwear without running into another Mountaineer – including my travels to 55 countries and 44 states and 13 cruises.

West Virginia has only 1.8 million people, who are its #1 export.

 

John Stolfo passes away

John Stolfo, who worked at the BJ till his retirement at the age of 70, passed away Tuesday, February 14.

John’s obituary:

CUYAHOGA FALLS -- John F. Stolfo, 97, passed away peacefully on February 14, 2017, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

He was born on December 7, 1919, to Nicholas and Florence Stolfo. John grew up in Akron, Ohio, where he sold the Akron Beacon Journal on the corner of Market and High Street when he was 10 years old. Little did he know then that he would go on to work for the Beacon all his adult working years, retiring at the age of 70. John served in the Army during World War II as the First Sergeant of the 501st Maintenance Ordinance. His company followed General Patton across Europe repairing tanks and other equipment. They were regarded as an elite ordinance and in high demand. John was very proud of his days in the service and the fact that he took very good care of his men.

After the war, he came back to Akron and married his wife of 69 years, Marguerite Sipe. Aside from raising seven children and his work at the Beacon Journal, John liked working with wood and building things, including the three houses that his family lived in over the course of time. He was well liked in the community and was always ready to help family and sometimes perfect strangers when they needed a helping hand.

John was preceded in death by his son, Patrick; and his brothers, Lorenzo and Vito. He is survived by his wife, Marguerite of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; his children, David of Akron, Ohio; Rita (Rodney) Ditto of East Sparta, Ohio; Paul of Akron, Ohio;

Raymond of Lake Worth, Florida; Carol (Thomas) Stegall of Desoto, Missouri; and Michael of Akron, Ohio. He leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Kristen (Bailey, Auden) of New York, Shannon (Journey, Marley) of Arizona, Erin (Lincoln) of Florida; Sam (Adrianna , Jax) of Akron, Ohio; Robin (Barry, Ryan, Beau, Holly); Brandianne (Max, Zoie, Joni); Meranda (Calliope, Quincy); Jessica

(Andrew, Chelsea) of Canton, Ohio; Johnny of East Sparta, Ohio; Charles (Mytchel, Maci) of Cedar Hill, Missouri; Sarah (Jackson to-be) of Camdenton, Missouri.

A heartfelt thank you to all his nurses and aides at National Church

Residences, especially

Jackie, Sonni, Laci,

Stephanie and nurses Kelly and Kim who did an outstanding job caring for John.

A brief memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 18 at the Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221. A military memorial service will be held at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery at an unspecified future date. To view tribute video, send condolences or sign the guest book visit www.cliffordshoemaker.com.

Published in Akron Beacon Journal on Feb. 16, 2017 - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ohio/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=184151456#sthash.eOMxPp6t.dpuf