John Claudius

1964 - 2021

John Claudius
September 6, 1964 - January 10, 2021
Kansas City, Missouri - A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, September 11 in Kansas City, Missouri, in honor of John Sandes Claudius, 56, who passed away after fiercely battling an illness. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph. John was born on September 6, 1964 in northeast Kansas City to The Rev. Gerald Lionel Claudius and Emagene Foster Claudius and was the youngest of four siblings. His nerdy love for data began when he and his best friend were hired as "compliance officers" for Burger King, tasked with sampling and rating local burgers. He maintained that work ethic as he dutifully tested libations during his time at the University of Missouri-Rolla, where he completed his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, played tennis, and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. Focused on an eventual 32-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, he completed his Master of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kansas and his Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His proudest achievement, though, was marrying his beautiful wife of 27 years, Rhonda, who shared his kind and goofy personality. Nothing surpassed his devotion to her and their daughters, Rachel and Grace. Some of his fondest memories with his daughters were coaching their sports teams, toting them along on his global travels, and simply hearing about their days—though, he could've done with fewer ramblings about reality television. An immensely hard worker, he leaves behind his work of helping to pioneer pharmaceuticals for rare disorders, as well as a list of home improvement projects for his daughters that they were supposed to complete months ago. He is preceded in death by his wife and his parents. He is survived by his daughters; his partner, Janet; siblings, Joel, Bruce, and Elisabeth; nieces, Roxanne, Kellie, Stella, Emma, and Madeline; nephews, Ian and Timmy; cousin, Gary; and friend, Byron. A shining light, John looked forward to being with his family again in the future, as well as serving his God. Until that time comes, his daughters will miss him every day and will honor him with love and laughter.