John Denham

On Nov 5, 1951, John Denham was born to Loren and Evelyn Denham in Herrin Illinois. John was the middle of three children; Patty was the oldest and Allen was the youngest. John graduated from Herrin high school in 1969 and enlisted in the Marines soon after. One hi-light of John's military career was his participation in the funeral detail of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Another memorable event took place near the end of the Viet Nam war when John participated in the helicopter evacuation of the American Embassy during the fall of Saigon. John attained the rank of Warrent Officer. Not long after John left the service, he met Lisa and on February 23, 1990 they were married in Paducah, Kentucky. They just celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary this past February. In the first ten years of marriage, John and Lisa moved 7 times. They had four houses built from scratch, and lived in a total of 5 different states. But it's here in Winter Haven, Florida that they put down the deepest roots and called home. Many of those moves were based on career opportunities that John pursued. He was in the corrugated industry for ten years as Plant Supervisor and then General Manager. He worked for five years as Safety Manager for the CRL Trucking company. And for the last ten years, John worked at CJ Bridges Railroad Contractors in Mulberry as Vice President of health, safety, and environment. He truly loved his job and everyone he worked with at CJ Bridges. John turned 65 last November and was looking forward to retirement this November. He and Lisa enjoyed spending time playing golf, traveling, and playing with their miniature schnauzers Fred, Forrest, and Frankie. John proudly shared stories, with anyone and everyone who would listen, of the many awards and achievements their 'kids' won at agility competitions over the last ten years. Even the pharmacist at Walgreens remembers John's stories of his dogs! John was a hard worker his whole life. He loved his 'kids' and he loved his wife Lisa; his best friend, partner, and soul mate. The Family will receive friends from 2:00pm till 3:00pm, Friday, April 7, 2017 at Oak Ridge Funeral Care in Winter Haven. A funeral service will follow at 3:00pm. Condolences may be sent at www.oakridgefuneralcare.com.