John met his wife Katherine Elaine while she was teaching in Guthrie, Oklahoma and they were married March 11, 1942. They were stationed in Texas and Panama while he was in the Army. They then moved to Ainsworth, Nebraska. In 1953, the family moved to Topeka where John worked as engineer for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. He passed away in 1975 and is buried in Topeka, Kansas.