John D. Pewitt

John D. Pewitt

Our beloved John passed away on February 7, 2019, at the age of 83. John's life was a life well lived. Born in Butte, Montana to Esther and Dorse Pewitt, he lived in a small cabin built by his dad in Alder Gulch, a gold mining area above Virginia City, Montana. The family moved down to Alder, Montana, when "little Johnny" was school age.

During WWII, the family relocated to San Francisco, where his dad worked in the shipyards. The family later moved to Laurel, Montana, where John finished school while hunting, fly fishing, camping and enjoying everything his beloved Montana had to offer. He worked for Northern Pacific Railroad while attending college at Eastern, in Billings, Montana. While his career eventually took him away from Montana, John returned to Montana every year. The saying, "you can take the boy out of Montana, but you can't take Montana out of the boy," was certainly true for John.

John served in the United States Army from 1955-1958, two of those years involved field intelligence work in Korea and Japan. After serving his country, John finished his degree at the University of Washington. John spent the next 37 years working in the corporate world, primarily in human resources and labor relations. In 1996 he retired from the Boeing Company as Director of EEO, Employee and Labor Relations for the Defense and Space Group.

John met Marilyn, his wife of 59 years, shortly after he arrived in Seattle. Together they enjoyed camping, traveling and raising their family. They especially loved sharing their Mason Lake place with family and friends for nearly fifty years. John was an avid fisherman who liked salmon, trout and fly fishing. He enjoyed hosting fishing and poker parties at Mason Lake, taking extended fishing trips to the Yukon and immersing himself in books. John was a long-time Husky fan, attending football games as a season ticket holder for many decades. In retirement, John and Marilyn spent early springs in Sedona and along the California coast enjoying the company of close friends.

John is survived by his wife Marilyn, daughter Sheri, son Steve, granddaughters Peyton and Sawyer and cousins whom he loved like siblings. His burial will be in the family plot in Laurel, Montana.