John Albert Taft

John was born to Richard Blocker and Nanna Alicia Taft at Maynard Hospital in Seattle, WA. He grew up on his family property located in Northgate area where I5 now is. John graduated from Roosevelt High School and worked for his family's knitting mill located in Seattle. In 1961 John joined the US Coast Guard Reserve where he served as an Electronics Technician 2nd Class. John attended Seattle Pacific University earning a degree in Business Administration.

John met the love of his life, Julie Ellen Gabel and they were married on September 8th, 1962. Together they had a son (Richard Blocker Taft) and a daughter (Jaime Alison Taft).

John began programming computers in 1967 at Peoples Bank. In 1970 the family moved to Oregon where John continued working as a programmer. In 1973 the family moved to Edmonds WA, where he worked at Seattle First National Bank. In 1974 he took a position as a systems programmer for King County helping architect a database system. In March 1975, John began his own business (Mini Technology Inc.) creating a new database system for banking. After four years of development, his company was bought by Software AG who then breached their contract and a stressful lawsuit ensued. The lawsuit ended successfully and John was able to retire in the early 1980s.

In 1978, the family purchased a beautiful new home on Cottage Lake in Woodinville. John spent much of his years on various projects around the home. He was a very skilled woodworker and built many items such as cabinetry and furniture. He and Julie became interested in boating. He took family and friends on many boating adventures around Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. John lived in his Woodinville home until 2018 (40 years) when he moved to Sedro Woolley to be closer to his family. John was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019 and died peacefully in his bed while living at Birch View Memory Care.

John is survived by his son Richard (Jana) and daughter Jaime, and his eight grandchildren.