John Michael Joplin

John was born in Eastern Washington to Ruby and John. He spent his youth selling newspapers so he could buy the complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and his teens jumping freight trains to Mexico from Port Angeles with his two best pals, Patric and Jack.

After stints at Seattle University and Mexico City College, John graduated from the University of Washington (UW) in 1962. Before graduating, he met Marilyn at a party while playing Sardines (a backwards hide and seek game). They spent the night sitting in a bathtub together until the other party goers gave up looking for them. Not long after, they were married by the justice of the peace - their friends thought it wouldn’t last.

Upon graduation, John entered Officer’s Training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. After his time in the military he returned to Washington and worked for Boeing. He received his Masters in Business Administration in 1970 from the UW and then began working for Arthur Young & Co. as a consultant for city governments around the United States, including Anchorage, San Diego, Tucson, and Jacksonville. His experience working with local governments spanned over 40 years, concluding with serving as Chief Financial Officer of Yarrow Point, WA at age 79. He also worked as a hospital administrator in Modesto, CA and Phoenix, AZ.

John was elected Council-at-Large for Brier City Council and served from 2012 until 2021. He was also a member of the Snohomish County Board of Health for several years. He served as President, Board of Trustees, for the Lou Gehrig’s Disease Research Foundation, Solomon Park Institute, for ten years. The summer of 2022, at age 85, he rode his recumbent trike in the Brier SeaScare parade.

John had a keen wit and an adventurous spirit. He took a nap on Machu Picchu on his 70th birthday, walked the length of Manhattan, as well as the entire Interurban Trail, the North Creek Trail, and the Burke-Gilman Trail. He was a voracious reader, a news junkie, a movie buff, and a lover of good coffee and dark chocolate. He loved art and architecture, riding his recumbent bike, reading every book he could get his hands on about World War II, and drawing and painting. He started learning Swahili the last week of his life, so he could thank his caregivers in their native language.

John delighted in his grandchildren and they were his greatest joy in life (followed closely by Diet Coke on ice, the New York Times, and MSNBC). He loved sharing books, movies and laughter with his family. He adored his wife, Marilyn, referring to her as his bride, even after 61 years.

John is survived by his wife Marilyn, his sisters Judy (Gene) and Carol (Patric), and daughters Shannon (Keith) and Megan (Joe), and grandchildren Tanya, Eli, Tristan, Margaret, Spencer and Duncan, and great-grandson, Anton, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends near and far, especially Jack, Patric (also his brother-in-law), and Jerry. He also leaves behind his beloved chocolate labrador, Hershey. His father John, mother Ruby, stepmother Bev, stepfather Hugh, and stepbrother Chip, predeceased him.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, even those he regularly trounced on Trivia Planet.

A Celebration of Life will be at the Nile Shrine Golf Course on August 20th. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in John’s honor to Mary’s Place, an organization important to him. The family invites you to comment on and add photos to the memorial website.