John M Lubahn

John Lubahn passed from this life on March 17, 2018 following a lengthy fight with kidney and heart failure. He was surrounded by his sons Scott, Rick, granddaughter Hallie, former wife Ann and daughter Jonni with whom he found the opportunity to acknowledge and connected with prior to his final moments. John was born on January 9, 1934, (ok kids now you know how old he really was) to Emma King and Howard M. Lubahn in Seattle, WA. He attended elementary school in South Prairie and later his father transferred to the Wenatchee area to work with the Burlington Northern Railroad. John attended school and graduated from Wenatchee High School. He was active in his church functions. Following graduation, he followed in his father's footsteps and went to work for the railroad. He married Betty MacLaren, with whom he had three daughters: Jonni, Jacki and Jerri. They later divorced. In the late 1950's John enrolled in classes at Eastern Washington State College at Cheney and found his love of learning. Over the following years he received a BA in French; followed by a BA in education and a Master's Degree in Education. In 1961 he met and married Ann Rinard in Clarkston, Washington. They made their home in Spokane as John finished his degrees. He accepted his first teaching job at Kapowsin Elementary School in Graham and they moved to Puyallup. Three years later he accepted a position in the Puyallup District at Edgewood Elementary School. They have two sons Scott Michael born in 1963 and Eric (Rick) Fitzgerald born in 1967 and made their home in Puyallup and Edgewood during John's career. John taught for more than 25 years. He was a teacher with whom students connected and his relationships with them that far surpassed his teaching years. At one point in his career he received a call from a New Mexico sheriff who said he had a student who had hitchhiked from Edgewood to that state and would only identify his teacher's name. John arranged his return to the parents who were happy that he was safe. He valued kids and did his best to provide them a safe harbor if it was needed. Many of students asked him to mediate when they were not sure how to proceed with a problem. John spent his summers coaching county baseball in Edgewood for boy's grades 6-9. His teams were the Orphans because sponsors were hard to find an John financed the team out of pocket. He also acted as the director of the Edgewood summer softball/baseball program for a number of years with the help of Dave Kurley. He loved the sports programs and loved the kid's ability to participate. John is survived by his sons Scott, Rick, daughters Jonni, Jerri, grandchildren Nora (Jason) Gima, Kurtis Lubahn, Erik Lubahn, Cheyanne Lubahn, Hallie Lubahn, Jennifer Lubahn, Rachel Pettel, Andrea Pettel, great grandchildren Nyoko Gima, Kaemon Gima, Melody Lubahn, brothers Norman (Karen), George (Joyce), Dan Lubahn, David Lubahn and Ann Lubahn Fuqua. He was preceded in death by daughter Jacki Pettel. A memorial service will be held at Powers Funeral Home in Puyallup on Saturday April 14, 2018 at 1:00pm.