John George Novotny John George Novotny was born on February 21, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, and passed from this life to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on February 23, 2025, in Monument, Colorado. He was 88 years old. John was married to his wife Shirley for over 56 years, from their wedding day on December 14, 1957, until her death on October 15, 2014. John is survived by their four adult children, Deborah Jean Lawrence and her husband John, David John Novotny and his wife Diane, Rebekah Lynn Roberts and her husband Lonnie, and Stephen John Novotny and his wife Rachel, and by their many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While John grew up in Illinois, in his early thirties he moved his growing family to Washington State, where he raised his family and spent most of his adult life. Even with four children and working full time in telephone manufacturing, John was able to complete his bachelor's degree by taking night classes at Pacific Lutheran University, allowing him to move into higher account management roles at AT&T. As a result, he was part of the team at AT&T that was responsible for the phone systems at the iconic Columbia Tower in Seattle as it was built in 1982, and was part of AT&T's telephone service operations across the country. In his spare time, John pursued a variety of hobbies and useful endeavors. He was well known by his neighbors, family, and friends for his industry and personal creativity. In addition to enjoying camping and fishing in the mountains of Washington, he built several of the houses that Shirley and he lived in. When Shirley thought it would be nice to have chickens, goats, and a cow, without any prior experience in farming, John built an impressive miniature farm with barns, chicken coops, stalls for milking goats, and a fenced pasture for a cow . . . which later ended up in the freezer. He was also a true and frugal bohemian, he wasted nothing and kept a lot of "stuff", as was evident when his kids had to go through all of his stuff in his later years. Above all, John was best known as a committed family man, devout in his Christian faith, and faithful to his wife Shirley. His devotion to family was particularly evident in his wife's final years when she suffered from significant health issues, and he cheerfully and tirelessly served as her caregiver until her passing in 2014. Even in his own last three years of life, struggling with the debilitating effects of Dementia, he consistently exuded optimism, kindness for others, and a deep abiding faith in God. He will be missed by his family and all those who know him. A graveside service with military honors will be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 11:00am PST at Newell-Hoerling's Mortuary, 205 West Pine Street, Centralia, Washington. In honor of John, we invite all those who knew him, loved him, and were touched by his life to leave memories and upload photos to his memorial page. Let us celebrate John Novotny's life by sharing the moments that made him such a special part of ours.