John Machlan

1948 - 2026

John Benton Machlan, 77, of West Olympia, passed away Friday, March 13, after a long illness. He is survived by Evan, Eoin and Lucy Machlan, his nephew, grandnephew and grandniece.



My dear Uncle Jack was kind, gentle, generous, quiet; he loved cats, art, gardening, his friends and family. He had several close friends but was generally a solitary and private man. He never married or had kids of his own.



Jack was one of those men who seemingly knew how to do everything. In college he studied art, architecture and metalsmithing; he was a professional jeweler for many years and taught jewelry arts at Highline Community College; he was a pastry chef and ran a cafe in the Antiques Mall in downtown Olympia; he designed and built a house for his mother to take care of her in her old age.

My grandmother, incidentally, lived in that house with him until the day she died, at age 96, surrounded by family. John Machlan was an exceptionally kind and capable man.



He was always making art, right up until the morning he died. And though he was private and introverted, if he loved you he was always available and always there for you. He had rare wit and humor, even when he felt his worst – which unfortunately was too often over the last weeks of his life. Jack was a committed stoic; he did not believe in God or the afterlife. Despite this, I am pretty confident he believed in us. I hope we live up to his expectations.



There will be a small graveside service at Mills and Mills cemetery in Tumwater at 2 PM on Friday, April 3. In lieu of flowers or donations, please do something fun with someone you love. Jack would have preferred that.