John K. DeBrosse

John Kenneth DeBrosse

July 17, 1961 - December 22, 2025

After a gallant, ten-year effort of living and dealing with the day-to-day challenges of Parkinson's Disease, John Kenneth DeBrosse passed away on December 22, 2025, quietly at his beloved home on the shores of Lake Champlain.

John's life was filled with joy and accomplishments in his family life, his professional world, his athletic pursuits, and his many friendships. John's incredible intellect, combined with his easy-going style led to numerous deep personal and professional relationships. He was fun, engaged, kind, and brought his own unique style and depth to all his tasks, at home, with his family and at work.

John was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on July 17, 1961. His father, Kenneth Lawerence DeBrosse and mother, Marjorie Wagner DeBrosse graduated from Miami University, Oxford Ohio with a MA in physics and chemistry and MA in mathematics, respectively. Ken was an engineer, problem solver and inventor who designed the first US space weather satellite for ITT/NASA, and his mother was an accomplished actuarial with Lincoln Life Insurance. They provided a warm, loving, and active home life characterized with western summer camping vacations including hiking, class I-III canoeing, swimming, water skiing, fishing, and the love of nature.

During his high school years in Fort Wayne, John was known for his swimming accomplishments placing in both fly and freestyle at city and state competitions in Indiana and winning many 4-H county and state fair competitions for his woodworking craftsmanship. John worked summer jobs at the local veterinary clinic/kennel. It was during this time that he developed a lifelong love for animals. Although not a musician, John's sister Katie, convinced John to serve as an alternate/space filler in the flute section of the Snider Marching Band where he marched for several years and developed many long-term friendships. Notably, John was recognized for his academic prowess during his time at Snider High School and he achieved the Honor Role all four years and special recognition in Math and Science.

John graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue University with honors in electrical engineering in 1984 and served as a Teacher's and Research assistant for the Dean of Physics. During John's term at Purdue, he received all As except one B in English, which he said he did purposely so he would not be classified as a "nerd." Upon graduation, John started his 40-year career at IBM, in February 1985, at Essex Junction, Vermont.

John joined Dale Critchlow's distinguished semiconductor development team in IBM's Microelectronic Division in Essex Junction Vermont as the world of semiconductors exploded, most notably making contributions to 16Mb DRAM memory and more advanced memory devices in each generation of semiconductor technology. He was an eager learner, a tireless worker, a creative inventor, and a real team player, solving extremely difficult and complex problems. He played a direct and critical role in IBM's dominance and growth in the 80s, 90s and well into the 21st century, from Personal Computers to RISC based processors to Mainframe Technology. To his surprise, one of his chip designs for IBM was even featured on the cover of TIME magazine in the 1980s. John was a valued member of the IBM Research team for over 30 years and was a prolific inventor with 288 patents. His recent work on Spin Torque Magnetic RAM (MRAM), viewed as the "Holy Grail" of advanced semiconductor memory due to its non-volatility, low power, and integratable characteristics was the latest outstanding innovation in an extensive career of outstanding innovations.

Beyond his technical brilliance, John was a pillar of the global engineering community. He served on the steering committee for the VLSI Symposium for a decade and was a vital member of the technical committee for the IEDM. Within IBM, he achieved the prestigious status of "Master Inventor," a testament not only to his ingenuity but to his role as a mentor and collaborator who thrived on working with others to solve complex problems. He leaves behind a legacy of innovation that continues to live in the devices we use every day.

John was a gifted athlete and was always in top physical shape, spending his free time in athletic pursuits accompanied by his faithful and loving friend, his labrador Kona. While his athletic prowess was widely known, he was always humble and willing to teach others. From hiking and biking with Kona, as well as, playing volleyball, sailing, waterskiing and wakeboarding in the summer, to all types of skiing (cross country, telemark, alpine and skijoring), ice fishing and sledding in the winter, he was constantly having fun with sports and his friends. When windsurfing was invented, John discovered his true passion. He and his boards became fixtures on Lake Champlain. He uniquely could claim to have windsurfed in Lake Champlain every single month of the year. John's skill in windsurfing and kiting took him to many of his favorite meccas including Cape Hatteras, Maui, Corpus Christi, the Columbia River Gorge, and Margarita Venezuela, where he was able to perfect his twisting, landing, gybing, and other complex maneuvers.

John's love of the water led to his buying a home on the shores of Lake Champlain, where he created a fun and active environment for his friends, his son Geoffrey, and many of the neighborhood kids. John welcomed all and had many toys, boards, floats, and watercraft, opening his own private playground to all. His home was a paradise, and he was always there to promote, to teach, to educate and to pass on his own love for the water.

John was a devoted father. Geoffrey was his greatest blessing. He loved playing with Geo, teaching him along the way how to be the fine young man he has become. They especially enjoyed swimming, snorkeling, boating, traveling, and skiing together. John was actively involved in Geoffrey's interests and collectively they built many pine-wood derby cars together and worked on scouting badges when involved in the Scouts of America. John also served as an Assistant Scoutmaster so he could join and teach Geoffrey and other young men about nature, fishing, and camping. Geo successfully swam competitively and is an outstanding Nordic skier, and water skier. John enjoyed following Geoffrey's athletic accomplishments first in competitive swimming and later in Nordic skiing at St Lawrence University. John could not have been more proud and happy about his son, who continuously demonstrates the kindness, the caring and loving ways of his father. Following in his dad's love of science, Geoffrey is a third-year student studying geology at St. Lawerence University.

Over eight years ago, John was blessed to find his fiancée Alicia Jacobs and a new wonderful, chaotic, love-filled chapter of life in a blended family with their seven kids. He was a quiet, steady father, an avid high school and college sports fan, YouTube star, news viewer, take-out procurer, chore doer, builder, handyman, problem solver, and family anchor. He is so deeply appreciated, loved, and missed.

During this time, John joined the recovery community, finding peace in a new way of life. The deep friendships, support, and sense of belonging he found there were meaningful and brought lasting changes to his life. We honor that journey and the people who helped make it possible.

John was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth, and his mother, Marjorie Wagner. He is survived by his son Geoffrey; Geoffrey's mom Suzie McCoy; his sister Katie DeBrosse Nees, brother-in-law Bob Nees and nephews Greg and Thomas Nees; his fiancée Alicia Jacobs and her children Adriana, Myla, Seb, Dylan, and Andrew Jacobs and Kaylee Miles; his brother David and nieces and nephews Andrea Missler, Janice and Kenny DeBrosse. John is also survived by his cousins Hugh, Jim, Paul and Beth Ogren, Marykay Gronke, Karl Wagner, and Tom and Jeanne Wagner.

John will be remembered for his kindness, his intellect, his generosity, his heart, and unwavering humility. He leaves behind family and friends who cherished him, a community that walked beside him, and countless lives made better by knowing him. May we honor John by caring for one another with compassion and grace.

Instead of sending flowers, the family is asking that donations be sent to "The John DeBrosse Memorial Fund" at the University of Vermont. John often was an impactful guest patient, teaching medical students at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Together, we aim to raise $50,000 to create an endowed fund in John's name at the College of Medicine dedicated to Parkinson's research, education, and innovation-ensuring lasting impact for future generations. To make a gift online, visit go.uvm.edu/debrosse. Checks should be made payable to UVM Foundation with "John DeBrosse Memorial Fund" in the memo & mailed to UVM Foundation, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday April 11, 2026, from 2:00PM to 5:00PM, with a service at approximately 3:00PM at The Essex Farmhouse at the Resort & Spa, Essex Junction, Vermont.