John Kerkvliet was born July 2, 1921 in Big Sandy, Montana. He died in Hollister, California on September 1, 2008. Dorothy, his loving wife of 66 years, his children Ben and his wife, Melinda, Joe and his wife, Cassandra, Becky and her husband Rich Kaiser, and Dale, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, survives him.
John was born to Bernard and Johanna Kerkvliet, both immigrants from Holland, the youngest of ten siblings. His father died when he was an infant and he was raised by his mother in Great Falls, Montana. He attended St. Thomas Academy and Great Falls High School from which he graduated in 1940. As with much of John’s generation, his life changed with the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. In August of 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, served as a machinist mate first class on two ships in the Pacific–USS Bridge and USS Killen–married Dorothy in December 1942. By the end of the war, John and Dorothy had one son and were expecting their second. Honorably discharged in November of 1945, he returned to his wife and family in Great Falls and began working as a repair man for the National Cash Register Company and fathered a daughter and another son.
John was employed by NCR for 45 years. He worked in Great Falls and along the Montana hi-line until 1964, and then began a series of moves first to Helena then to Billings, Montana. In 1966, he was transferred to Santa Rosa, California to teach others his craft. Transferred to Dayton, Ohio in 1970 to instruct in the company’s headquarters, he and Dorothy remained until 1976. Wanting to return to the west, Dorothy and John transferred to Reno, Nevada where he worked until his retirement in 1983. As the cash register and bank machine industry changed from mechanical to electronic throughout his long career, John updated his skills frequently by attending NCR trainings.
John was a devoted husband and father. He loved working with his hands. He and his Great Falls friends constructed several houses in which to raise their growing families. In 1958 he constructed a family home in Great Falls, working with other family members and friends. Throughout his life and particularly during his retirement years, John was a woodworker-constructing cabinets, furniture, picture frames and other projects in his home workshop.
John taught his children a deep interest in and respect for all living things. He always tended a vegetable garden. He took an abiding interest in the ever-changing vegetable fields of the Salinas Valley. He introduced his children to the wonders of nature through camping in Montana and idyllic times fishing, hiking, swimming, and working at the family cabin on the Missouri River south of Great Falls.
In their retirement years, John and Dorothy continued to enjoy hiking, camping, skiing, and other travels, first in the desert and mountains surrounding Reno, Nevada and then in the Pinnacles and other areas near Hollister.
Throughout his life, John was a devoted Catholic. During the 11 years he lived in Hollister, he and Dorothy, attended weekly Mass at the Immaculate Conception Parish in Tres Pinos. Both John and Dorothy frequently volunteered their time to help at the Parish, at the Hollister Library, and the annual Montana Picnic. John also worked regularly as a volunteer in Hollister’s Community Pantry and was an avid reader.
John’s children will always remember their father for his honesty, his modesty, his trustworthiness, and devotion to his wife and family. His presence will be sorely missed but we know he is always beside us through the values he instilled in those he touched, the wonderful childhoods he gave his children and the 66 years of devotion to Dorothy.
A memorial mass for John will be held on Monday, September 8, 2008 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 7290 Airline Highway, Tres Pinos, CA at 9:00 A.M. with a reception following.
