John Henry O'Bannon

John H. O’Bannon, a member of the Greatest Generation, was born on March 14, 1925, and passed from us to be with his Lord on July 15, 2022, at the age of 97.  He passed away at home surrounded by family and friends.  One day shy of two months earlier, his wife of 75 and a half years, Doris, passed away.  He soon followed her having succumbed to a broken heart.

John was born the second of three children to John Henry O’Bannon and Ethel O’Bannon (nee McKinnis) in Farmington, Missouri.  When still a young boy, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where John spent most of his life.

John’s mother and father were very active in the Lafayette Park Church of the Nazarene (currently the Southwest Church of the Nazarene) in St. Louis and raised their children in that tradition.  His father would often make a circuit of the St. Louis Nazarene churches as an evangelist and the three children went with him to provide music.  John played the guitar, his older sister, Faye, played the accordion, and his younger brother, Mel, played the mandolin.  This love of music was a major part of John’s entire life and a great gift which he shared with others.  John had a booming baritone voice and used this talent to lead church choirs, serve as song evangelist during revivals, and sang barbershop in a quartet.

When John was a teenager, World War II broke out and at the age of 18, John enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943.  After receiving his training at Farragut, Idaho, he was assigned to the destroyer U.S.S. Irwin and served on the ship for nearly two-and-a-half years.  The Irwin sailed throughout the Pacific and was involved in most of the major battles of the war including the largest naval battle of WWII in Leyte Gulf.  He was discharged in February, 1946 and got reacquainted with a lively young lady by the name of Doris Whitener who he met at a church function.  They were married in November of the same year.  They were blessed with one son, John William.

John had various jobs throughout his working career.  Among them, he worked as a barber for around 25 years.  After leaving barbering, John worked at a hardware store warehouse loading and unloading merchandise.  He retired at the age of 62, and he and Doris enjoyed over 30 years of retirement together.  They moved to Table Rock Lake, Missouri soon after retiring and were prepared to live there for the rest of their days.

But God had other ideas.  And He wrapped up these ideas in a tiny package:  the only son of their only son.  They moved to Stevensville, MT in 1996 when their grandson was two years old and were loved and admired by all those who knew them.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Doris, his mother and father, and his sister.  He is survived by his son, John W. O’Bannon and his wife Barbara (nee Garavaglia), his grandson John J. O’Bannon and his wife Rebecca (nee Weidkamp), his brother Melvin O’Bannon and one niece and three nephews.

The memorial service will be held on Thursday, July 21 at 11 a.m. at Bitterroot Valley Church of the Nazarene, 803 Fifth Avenue in Victor, MT, followed by a graveside service at Victor Cemetery.  A reception will follow at Neely Center at the corner of Fifth Avenue and A Street in Victor.