John O. Tonning, 88, of Baker City, died Aug. 21, 2005, at his home.
His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Haines Cemetery.
John was born on July 20, 1917, at Kladesholmen, Sweden, to Karl and Bertha Tonning. He and his family arrived at Ellis Island, N.Y., in 1920.
He was proud to be an American and embraced the American dream. He graduated from Columbia University School of Engineering in 1939 and began a long and varied engineering career. During his career he worked for the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Anaconda Copper Mining and finally 22 years for Boeing Co. where he retired in 1985.
He was a 42-year-member of Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club. Boating was his second love in life, and he and his wife of 64 years spent many years cruising the San Juan Islands.
His family was his first love in life. John was the loving husband of Helen and father of three daughters, Lynn, Gale and Diane. He recently moved to Baker City from Bellevue, Wash., where he had lived for 40 years at Tom O’Shanter.
“He will be greatly missed by us all,” his family said.
Survivors include his wife, Helen of Baker City; daughters, Lynn Keener of Beverly Hills, Fla., Gale Drost of Burkeville, Texas, and Diane Florence of Baker City; six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 9, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor