JOHN MAHNKE

MAHNKE--John Frederick,

64, of New York, NY passed away in New York City on Saturday, December 3rd. A wake will be held Thursday, December 8th, from 6pm-9pm at Frank Campbell Funeral Home, 1076 Madison Avenue, and the Funeral Mass will be held Friday, December 9th at 11am at Christ and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 122 West 69th Street. John was born December 17, 1951 in Des Moines, IA to Shirley and Carl Mahnke. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Des Moines and went on to attend and graduate from Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. He obtained a graduate degree from the creative writing program at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. He then moved to New York City where he lived the rest of his life. He married Anne Kathleen Hackett in 1994 and his daughter, Isabelle, was born in 1995. John worked as a technical writer and computer consultant for most of his career. John was a poet; he began writing poetry during his time at Oberlin and studied with Charles Simic at the University of New Hampshire. John continued in his love of reading and writing poetry his entire life. His poems are filled with his wry and often absurdist sense of humor. John enjoyed volunteering for many years at the Edith Read Sanctuary in Rye, NY and spent many hours there fighting to restore the health of the forest. He had a deep love of nature, particularly wildflowers. John is survived by his daughter Isabelle Anne Mahnke, his three siblings Amy, Eric and Lisa Mahnke, his three nieces, two great-nephews, and his greatniece. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, PO Box 27106, New York, NY 10087 in memory of John F. Mahnke.