John is a native of North Idaho. He was born and raised in Wallace and has lived in Coeur d'Alene since 1978. John’s wife, Sheila, is also from Wallace. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their four children and seven grandchildren. John retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2007 where he worked as a timber sale contract administrator for 42 years. He completed his education in forestry at Oregon State University at the Forest Engineering Institute.
In 1982 John was appointed to the Coeur d'Alene Planning and Zoning Commission where he served for 25 years--20 of those years as the chairman. In 2007 John was elected to the Coeur d' Alene City Council and served for 4 years. During his time on the City Council, he served as Council Liaison to the police and fire departments. John is currently a member of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee, the Arts Commission, and the Board of Directors of the Centennial Trail Foundation where he has served as Chairman for six years.
John began his volunteer work with St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) in 1982 when he was asked to attend "a meeting" of the Housing Board to advise the members on some zoning issues in Coeur d' Alene. He was hooked and has been a member of SVDP’s Housing Board since. John joined the Board of Directors of SVDP in 2001 and served as Board President from 2005 to 2011. John is currently Board Vice President for Housing and Development for SVDP, and he serves on the SVDP governing boards for Kathy Reed House, Lynn Peterson House and John O' Brian House. In addition to his work for SVDP, John is President of the Region One Housing Coalition and Board President for Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance (PAHA).
