John Oliver

1938 - 2021

John Hill Oliver
August 5, 1938 - December 31, 2020
Our family, friends and coworkers are mourning the loss of John "Johnny O" Oliver. John H. Oliver, retired after having been a long time instructor at the City College of San Francisco, Alemany Campus, died on December 31, 2020. He was born August 5, 1938 in Vinita, Oklahoma to the late Josephine Hill Oliver and John Oliver. He and his younger sister and brother enjoyed their formative years in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. John was known as a sensitive kid with a love of learning. After high school he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduation and a stint in the US Navy, John served in the Peace Corps for two years as an instructor of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Mwanza, Tanganyika, now Tanzania, in East Africa.
Upon his return to the US John earned his master's degree in ESL from Reed College. He then joined the faculty at City College, where his main academic efforts were dedicated to teaching English to recent arrivals in the US. For a while he lived in a small apartment near the marina in Sausalito, California, where he gained a reputation as a fun-to- be-with sailing instructor and liar's dice player. Later, he met, at Alemany, the love of his life, Faina Shukhat, who was a very good student and obviously made a good impression upon him because they married in 1998.
One of his fellow teachers has reported that John "…really brightened and enriched school life for faculty and students at Alemany, where he and I worked together for many years. His contributions to matters grammatical and pedagogical, his witty contributions during meetings, lunch and break time and his overall kind and thoughtful way of being made our work life so much better. He was missed when he retired and most welcome when he and Faina came to various festivities and events after that." Relatives left to mourn his passing are his beloved wife Faina, his brother Jim, sister Fran, stepdaughter Lucy, step-grandson Nicky and a host of extended family in many parts of the country.
We will remember his warm nature, his sense of humor, his smile, his love of family and friends, and his respect for others.
There will be a graveside service at Home and Peace Cemetery, Colma, CA at 1p.m. Tuesday January 26, 2021. A celebration of life will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, his family would appreciates donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or to the charitable organization of your choice.