John Andrew Jakich

John Andrew Jakich

John Andrew Jakich passed away peacefully at Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Chisholm, Minn., on October 22, 2025. He was 89 years old.

John was born on April 6, 1936, in Long Beach, Calif., to Andrew (Frank) Jakich and Ethel (Vargo) Jakich. He grew up in East Gary, Ind., where he spent many days when he should have been in school hunting and fishing with his dog Brownie. He'd catch fish that he would sell to the older women in his neighborhood. He disliked school because it didn't provide the outdoor adventure that he thrived on.

At 18, he joined the Marines, much to the chagrin of his father, who had been in the Navy (they were at odds more often than not). He was stationed in Quantico, Va., and Okinawa, Japan. He earned a black belt in Judo in Japan, but experienced a shoulder dislocation that ended his judo career and resulted in a lifelong disability. After his discharge, he married Carol (Thorgren) Jakich on October 31, 1958. They married on Halloween because it worked best with his duck hunting schedule (the man lived by his own rules until the end). They had to navigate through groups of children in costume to reach the church.

John worked for US Steel and then the JM Foster construction company outside Chicago until he was relocated to Hibbing, Minn., in 1972 to help build what would become Hibbing Taconite. He loved the wild forests, lakes, fishing, and trapping opportunities Minnesota offered, and when the job was finished, told his family he wouldn't return to Indiana, so his family reluctantly relocated to Hibbing from Portage, Ind., in 1973. John worked at Hibbing Taconite for many years and then freelanced, overseeing construction builds in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Indiana. He was a horrible speller but a brilliant builder, specializing in concrete forms and foundations. Fish feared him, and he was known to catch fish when others could not, rarely sharing his secrets to success with others. After he retired, he became a go to person for all kinds of sewing projects. He especially enjoyed reupholstering boat and snowmobile seats, making customized boat covers, repairing zippers of all kinds, and refurbishing boats. He made hundreds of masks during the pandemic and gave them to everyone he knew. He was an inventor at heart and loved solving problems, typically overcoming issues in novel and sometimes memorable ways.

He is survived by his children, Tracy (Guest) Davis and Diane Rau (Matt), his grandchildren: Jaden Guest, Cassidy Rau, Dylan Rau, and Danika Rau, and his remaining siblings, Merilyn Robertson and Robert Jakich.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Carol, and his siblings, Annette Jakich, Andrew Jakich, and Ethel Miklos.

A Funeral Service will be held in his memory at 4 p.m. on Monday, November 10, 2025, at the Dougherty Funeral Home in Hibbing, MN. Visitation will take place from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Arrangements are with the Dougherty Funeral Home of Hibbing, MN.