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John Rutherford Mykrantz, Jack, was born September 26, 1929 to John and Josephine Virginia (Rutherford) Mykrantz in Columbus, Ohio. They were joined seven years later by his brother, Christopher. It was a happy boyhood surrounded by a large close family and much freedom to mess around in creeks. At fifteen, he traveled to Idaho with his cousin to fight fires and fell in love with the West. He left home for college at Dartmouth and met an ‘older woman’--9 months his senior, a graduate student working as a Botany lab instructor. He fell in love again—with Barbara, with her family and with her Vermont. He promptly declared a Botany major. Between years at Dartmouth, they married, he enlisted in the Navy and began flight school. He fell in love again—with flight, with the air holding him aloft. He flew S2Fs, ‘stoofs’, chasing Russian subs. He remembered ‘flying over the North Pole at night’ searching for the tiny flat surface of his carrier, mid ocean, on which to safely land. By the time Jack left the Navy, he and Barbara had one child—Lisa. They returned to Hanover for work and studies, Jack to finish a BS and an MBA. Their next chapter was in Wilbraham, Massachusetts for Jack’s first ‘grown up’ job—financial work for Monsanto—where they met life-long friends, Jim and Deena Shriver. Three more babies followed: Peter, Andrea, John. They built a house in the woods. Jack was a playful, attentive dad. And, he loved work, too—‘never sorry to see Monday come’, he said. He loved all the chores of domestic life—raking leaves, making a garden, building rock walls, giving baths to squirmy bodies. The family moved to Kirkwood, Missouri and gathered more life-long friends. The family moved again to Boulder, Colorado, where the house looked out on a trout stream, across prairie to the front range of the Rockies. He was reunited with his first love—the West. The kids began to leave home and there was still more moving and work to do—on to Chicago and back to St Louis. In this era came the proudest part of his career. Leaving Colorado was difficult. He did it for the security of his family. At the same time he took a risk with several friends to start a new company, KB Denver. KB Denver adopted principles the partners knew from stories of Bill and Dave and the values on which they founded HP. Put people first, relationships first, and the finances will take care of themselves. We wish we could tell all his stories of employing a whole town. Every person, regardless of abilities and disabilities had something important to contribute. Jack wasn’t the only one to be proud of this creation—every single employee was equally proud. Finally, retirement, Jack’s longest gig, came. Forty years were full of adventure, exploration and contribution to family and community. Jack and Barbara explored the far corners of the world—Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Turkey and Greece—sailing, skiing, fishing. They settled in Corvallis in ‘97, joining Lisa’s family. It became their longest home, longest community. He volunteered with Greenbelt Land Trust, the ARC, SCORE and Therapeutic Horsemanship. Tireless in retirement, he created and marketed two garden planning kits. And, Jack flew often, making more friends at the airport. His Polish fighter/trainer, the Air Wolf, was fully aerobatic. ‘I don’t do any maneuvers I didn’t do in the Navy’, he told Barbara. He flew until just before his 87th birthday. After Barbara’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, he was her rock, our example. He was 94 and ¾ on June 30, 2024—the oldest Mykrantz ever, he often said. He had a wonderful life—wonderful family, both given and chosen, wonderful marriage, wonderful friendships, rich experiences. There was nothing he didn’t enjoy in the out-of-doors—fly fishing from an early age with his father, canoeing from time at Camp Wigwasati, skiing first with his new sweetheart in Vermont and later hiking, backpacking, gardening. He was our gold standard of enthusiasm and appreciation—for the natural world, for the work and talents of other people. He had an intimate relationship with awe—a daily relationship. It’s hard to tell if he was a spirit of air, of water, of earth. He relished them all. Jack is survived by his children and their families, Lisa Mykrantz Brown, Peter Mykrantz and his wife Alethea, Andrea Mykrantz and her partner Al Thiel and John Mykrantz; daughter-in-law, Katharine McAlister; his grandsons and their families, Nicholas Mykrantz and his wife Patti, Patrick Mykrantz Brown and his wife Stefani Aleman, Wes Mykrantz and his wife Delaney, Seth McAlister-Mykrantz, Nathan Mykrantz Brown and Sam McAlister-Mykrantz; his brother, Chris; and cherished friends. He joins his parents and his wife, Barbara. A memorial will take place at Corvallis Community Center, Saturday, August 17 at 2PM. Memorial contributions can be made to Greenbelt Land Trust, Corvallis Caring Place or Lumina Hospice.

Tributes

John Rutherford Mykrantz

September 26, 1929 - June 30, 2024