John Wayne Sommers

John Wayne Sommers

January 14,1957 – January 2,2025

On January 2, 2025 at 10:58 am, 67 year old John Sommers entered the Realm of the Lord, as he slipped his earthly bonds, leaving his loving family by his bedside.

 John was born on January 14, 1957 in Maquoketa, Iowa to Carol (Bid) Sommers and Donna Marcus Sommers. He was the youngest of the family, but sadly, his father became terminally ill while John was still a toddler. Due to the illness, his father was harsh and emotionally distant while his mother was preoccupied with her husband's illness, and the stress of working long hours to support the family. He was a bright child but as his schooling began, undiagnosed dyslexia restricted his scholastic achievement, leaving John painfully shy and withdrawn. He struggled all thru school but retained almost everything he heard or was able to read. He became known in his family as a 'font of useless information'. Hands-on learning was his forte and his first real job was in a TV Repair shop, learning how to fix the soon-to-be dinosaurs of the early 70's. It was here that he took on the moniker JB, short for John Boy. Eventually, JB found work as a garage door repair mechanic. He loved his job, priding himself on doing the job right, the first time.

 In the late 80's, JB met Linda May McClung, the love of his life. Her charm pulled him out of his self-imposed isolation. They were married in 1991. His mother and siblings would later claim it was the happiest they'd ever seen him. He fell into family life, accepting Linda's two children, Julie and Stephen as his own. Family was everything to JB and he soon found a small piece of property in Bithlo, with a tiny run-down house in dire need of repair. Here, was his happy place. He stayed busy, repairing and improving their small place until, with Linda's help, they turned that small house into a loving home. As the years passed, his ever expanding shop in the backyard, became his “lab”, filled to the brim with found treasures, scrap steel and twisted metal. Constantly tinkering, he delighted in dreaming up the most oddball creations. His sister recalls a conversation where John was laying out his design for a 6-foot mousetrap. When asked why he'd want to build something like that, he replied with a sly smile, “Because I can!” His sense of humor could be as dry as the Sahara and a stifled snicker would invariably escape when his listeners finally caught on.

 When JB's grandson, Charlie, was born, JB was over the moon about having a little boy to teach his tinkering ways. As Charlie grew, JB loved to pepper the child with questions and puzzles that required logic and deductive reasoning to solve. Who would have guessed that this 'font of useless information' would be the springboard to the young, inquisitive boy's future. Soon after, John and Linda welcome more children to their extended family, Evee, grandson Evan and little Payton.

 In his later years, as his health declined, he and Linda took on the role of primary care-givers to Ruby McClung, Linda's mother. The two became fast friends, sitting for hours in the shade of the backyard, telling and re-telling stories of their lives. Ruby was deeply mourned when she passed in April, but few felt her loss as deeply as JB, quietly pondering her absence as her empty chair sat beside him in the shade of the same backyard.

 Left to mourn his passing is his devoted wife, Linda, their children, Julie, Stephen. Evee and Payton, and his dear grandsons, Charlie and Evan. Also mourning his loss are his sisters, Linda (Jesse) Littleton and Lori (Jimmy) Alvey, a plethora of nieces and nephews, as well as close friends and business associates.

 Per John's request, there will be no funeral services, as he kept his faith intensely private. A small private memorial is planned for a later date, as yet to be announced.