John Block Jr.

John Block Jr. of Littleton, Colorado passed away on December 13, 2023 after a nearly decade-long fight with cancer.

John was born on August 6, 1940 to John and Marie Block in Saint Louis, Missouri. At the age of 2, his family moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he spent his childhood, attending Holy Innocents Catholic School before graduating from Lincoln High School in the class of 1958.

After graduating high school John joined the United States Air Force where he attended technical school as well as basic training. He used this tech training, with an emphasis on meterology, when he was deployed to Vietnam where he served honorably as a weather equipment advisor.

After returning from Vietnam, John continued he career path in technology, obtaining an Associate's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Milwaukee Institute of Technology. After obtaining his degree he was hired by IBM for a position to be located in Denver, Colorado. He stayed with IBM for 18 years and used that experience to later work for a number of companies maintaining midrange computer systems before retiring in 2003. After his official retirement he worked a few odd jobs to stay busy before finally retiring for good to enjoy his well-deserved rest.

On a trip back to his hometown of Manitowoc after he had moved to Denver, he met the love of his life, Ruth and they were married in July 1973. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2023 and she remained by his side until his passing. Together they had two children, Kristin and Michael. John became a grandparent in 2008 when the first 2 of 4 grandchildren were born. He took great pride in his family and helping them grow and succeed.

One of John's great loves from an early age was playing softball. He played in school, in the military, and in various leagues once he returned to civilian life. He formed many lifelong friendships through softball. John loved to fish on Lake Michigan and hunt in the woods of Wisconsin when he returned to his hometown for visits. He was a lifelong member of the American Legion, VFW, Vietnam Veterans of American and the Littleton Elks.

John is survived by his wife Ruth, daughter Kristin and her husband Scott, son Michael and his wife Nicole along with their children, Kaylynn, Liam, Mabel and Roland as well as his sisters JoAnn and Rosemary. He will be deeply missed by them as well as everyone he touched during his life.

John will be laid to rest at Fort Logan National Cemetary on January 3, 2024 at 10:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers please make donations in his name to the American Cancer Society cancer.org or charity of your choosing.

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