John MacPherson

1931 - 2010

Captain John MacPherson, USN, (Ret) passed away peacefully at Covenant Hospice Residence on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 after a seven year battle with cancer.
John was born on September 27, 1931, weighing in at 3 pounds, on Welfare Island, N.Y.C., NY. He was a first generation American. His father, John MacPherson, immigrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland; his mother, Catherine Burke, from Dublin, Ireland. His parents met during the sea passage to the U.S. Both parents preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Lynnae, in 1980.
John served 30 years in the US Navy, active and reserve. He received his BS ChE and MS ChE at Georgia Institute of Technology, and MS Systems Analysis at University of West Florida. He was employed by Monsanto/Solutia for 37 years as Engineering Consultant and Manufacturing Technologist, which required many trips to various European plants, including his father's homeland of Scotland. After retirement from Monsanto, he served as Process Control Consultant for Don Stuart & Associates. John loved sailboat racing on Flambeau and Duet in Pensacola Bay and the off-shore races from Gulfport and Fairhope to Pensacola. Lauderdale to Key West Race on Duet was later added to his favorites. After a final retirement, he and Bonnie cruised the eastern US, Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean Islands, Venezuela and Trinidad aboard their sailing vessel, Pelican, and had extensive travels in the Andes Mtns in S. America.
John was a board member and former Treasurer of the Pensacola Council of the Navy League of the US; a member of the Gulf Breeze Rotary Club, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He served two years as Commodore of the Pensacola Yacht Club; he was a member of the Florida Commodores Association; he was a member and former officer of the Emerald Coast Georgia Tech Alumni Club. One of his significant accomplishments in the community was serving on the founding committee and board of directors in early 1980's forming Hospice of Northwest Florida which later became Covenant Hospice of Pensacola.
He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Bonnie; sons, Edmund Andrew MacPherson (Peggy), John Matthew MacPherson, Robert Riley (Cecilia), Blake Sande; daughters, Eden Lynne Gasior (Mark), and Whitney Sande; grandsons, John Samuel MacPherson, Robert MacPherson, Stephen MacPherson, Bradford Gasior; granddaughters, Catherine MacPherson, Elizabeth MacPherson, Michelle Gasior and Adair Schwartz. He is also survived by his beloved mother-in-law, Dorothy Stewart; sister-in-law, Jane Stewart McMurray (Richard) and several nieces and nephews, "adopted family" Rosina and Bob Turner, special friends, Rick and Debbie Huckabee, Chuck and Donna Howard, Frank Peirce, Brian and Juliet Phillips, and many other beloved friends.
A special thank you to all the medical professionals who added to John's quality of life the past 10 months and to all the friends and neighbors who have helped us through this difficult time.
A memorial service will be held at NAS Chapel at 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 27, 2010 with interment at Barrancas National Cemetery with military honors at 11:45 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Wounded Warriors Project.org; Salvation Army, P. O. Box 18569, Pensacola, FL 32523-8569; Covenant Hospice of Pensacola, 5041 N. 12th Avenue, Pensacola 32504.
TRAHAN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME assisted with arrangements.