John Edward McElhiney

1939 - 2020

McElhiney, John Edward
3/8/1939 - 9/29/2020

John Edward McElhiney was born to Helen Bryan McElhiney and Max Otis McElhiney in St Joseph, Missouri on March 8, 1939. He attended the University of Kansas, for a BS and MS and the University of Missouri for a Ph.D in chemical engineering. He worked for Marathon.
John married Annette Bennington McElhiney, his high school sweetheart, on Jan 27, 1962. Their eldest son Matthew, a lawyer in Denver, was born in Baton Rouge, La on July 29, 1964. Their youngest son Ben, the CEO of Ultra Care was born on November 25, 1969.
John had his first cardiac bypass surgery when he was 55 and 5 other cardiac procedures after that. In 2014 he had atrial fibrillation and the beginning of chronic kidney disease. He had a pacemaker implanted in 2016. John was treated for chronic kidney disease at the UCSD Chronic Kidney Disease clinic in SD and was headed for dialysis when he healed from the surgery.
Just one month, to the day, before Johns death, he and Annette moved to independent living at White Sands 7450 Olivetas Ave, Apt 293, La Jolla, Ca. 92037. Because of her post chemo for ovarian cancer neuropathy of her hands and feet, aggravated by the cold and altitude, Annette will stay there.
John leaves behind In addition to Annette his wife of 58 years, Matt and Ben, 3 grandchildren that he adored: Maxwell Jee Min McElhiney 20, Mackenzie Shea McElhiney, 16 and Keira Brynn McElhiney 12 and a niece Amanda Nolan And 2 daughter in laws, Coleen O'Conner (Matt's wife) and Jan McElhiney (Ben's wife.)
John escaped one of his worse fears (Dialysis and all that comes with it) and he is now free. But his entire family is heartbroken. Because of COVID, John will be cremated and if this horrendous year and COVID are ever over, the family hopes to hold a Celebration of Life for family and friends in Denver. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association.