John Thomas Earl

John Earl Obituary

John Thomas Earl. A Celebration of Life in honor of John Thomas Earl, 51, will be held on January 13, 2013 at Kensington Gardens in Gig Harbor at 1:30 p.m. John passed away January 3, 2013 after a valiant battle with brain cancer. John was born on May 4, 1961 in Chicago, IL, to Joan D and Robert G. Earl, Sr. He attended Lyons Township High school before moving to Port Orchard, WA his senior year and graduated from South Kitsap High with the class of 1979. On July 23, 1988, he married Kathy and they made their first home in Port Orchard. John, Kathy and their children moved to Gig Harbor in 1995. John studied computer programming at Bates Technical College in Tacoma. He quickly became the resident expert of the IBM AS/400 specializing in security software. He traveled the world sharing his knowledge at various venues, first representing PowerTech and then as President and CEO of Townsend Security in Olympia. John was an active community member, on the Board of Directors of the Peninsula School District, Common AS/400 User Group, Washington Officials Association, Gig Harbor Poker League, and Gig Harbor Toastmasters Club and served as a South Kitsap Parks Commissioner. He was an avid reader and writer, contributing articles to the Tacoma News Tribune, Peninsula Gateway and internet security industry publications. John is survived by Kathy, his wife of 24 years; sons Gregory Vanden Bos, Christopher (Amy) Vanden Bos, Michael Earl and daughter Riley Earl; mother Joan; sisters Kathleen, Mary, Patricia, Joan, Ellen; brothers Robert, Jr. (Dawn), Daniel, James, Edward (Wendi); grandchildren Rebecca, Ayntrise, Trenton, Makenzie and Ashlynn Vanden Bos; mother-in-law Rose (Larry) Towns; fathers-in-law, Donald Standley and Larry (Shirley) Hendrickson; brother-in-law James (Carole) Standley; sister-in-law Lavonne (Robert) Bergmann; nieces and nephews, Ashlee, Gregory (Allison), Alex (Mary), Evan, Ean and Ethan Earl, James (Jamie) and Kristie Edwards, Megan and Brittany Standley and grandnieces and nephews Aidan, Ava Earl and Kiegan Johnson. His father, Robert G. Earl, Sr. preceded John in death. He will always be remembered for his loving heart, infectious smile, great sense of humor, and love of wrestling. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the charity of your choice or to the John Earl Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo Bank branch.

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Published by Central Cook Suburban Life on Jan. 8, 2013.

Memories and Condolences
for John Earl

7 Entries

Dave Dyess

January 27, 2013

I learned of John's passing on Thursday evening. I was shocked. I met John in the Fall of 1978, as we were both seniors. John had moved from Chicago to SK. He joined our Wrestling team and quickly became a friend. I am not aware of anyone who had issues with John. That was because of his genuinely friendly personality. We have crossed paths many times over the years, catching up on each others lives. Wrestling is a tough sport. It was particularly tough wrestling for the late Coach Maguire. John was particularly close to Maguire. Coach Maguire brought out the best in all of us. Maguire would frequently relate wrestling's challenges to life's challenges. And in doing so, he would routinely say to us, "ONCE A WOLF, ALWAYS A WOLF." A wolf belongs to a pack, in our case a team. I was not aware of John's challenges with cancer. And knowing John, that doesn't surprise me. I am aware that a very good man, a coach, teammate and friend is not with us now. His life was cut too short. I, as well as many others that knew him, we will sorely miss him. John Earl is a "WOLF."

Lisa Sarussi (Bogash)

January 11, 2013

Dear Ellen and family, I am so saddened to hear of the loss of your beloved son,brother, husband, father, uncle and my friend. I'll always have fond memories of the short time we spent following him and his friends around in high school, and hanging out at your house. Please know our prayers are with all of you at this time.

Tony Coppinger

January 10, 2013

I will miss my friend. He always made me smile and that is a rare gift.

Natalie, johnny, connor and gage Todd

January 9, 2013

We miss you so much. We love you with all our hearts and will ever forget the persn you were. You were one of the BEST fathers, husband and friend anyone could ask for. You will be forever in our hearts.

Dan Earl

January 9, 2013

Miss you brother,the celebration of your life continues thru all the people you have touched.

Cheryl Tucker

January 9, 2013

I'm so sorry to hear about John's death. We were big fans of him here in The News Tribune editorial writers' office. He was one of our reader columnists in 2008 and was always a joy to work with. We're running a tribute to him on our Inside Opinion blog: blog.thenewstribune.com/opinion.

Dan Bourassa

January 9, 2013

I am saddened to hear to hear of your loss. John was a former colleague at REI for many years. He was an amazing and talented team member' and a fun person to be around.Mprayers and thoughts go out yo his family at this painful time.

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