John Ralston Powers

Just short of his 87th birthday, on Sunday, May 26th, 2024, Butterflies came to gently escort John to his eternal garden to join all the loved ones who left before him. May he fly with the butterflies, sipping the sweetest nectar of the flowers abound.

After graduation, John enlisted in the Navy and served four years working on aircraft carriers. John received an engineering degree and after receiving his Honorable discharge from the service, he moved to Sunnyvale, CA to begin his civilian career. He worked as an engineer for the phone company, originally PacTel/PacBell until his retirement. Over the years, his three, long time work buddies, became his second family, sharing their joy of golfing for over 40 years.

John met his future wife of 52 years, Eileen (née Henkes; 1942-2022), at a dance. Married in 1971, and in 1972 moved to San Jose, where they purchased their new home and lived until their passing.

John was a fun loving, caring and devoted husband, father, and friend. He enjoyed fishing (Catch and release), golfing and was an avid gardener. John’s garden always looked like a page from a magazine, full of flowers and bonsaied trees and shrubs. John also enjoyed woodworking and crafting beautiful furniture pieces. John and Eileen loved to go for walks in parks throughout the bay area, their regular outings included Golden Gate Park, Angel Island, to local neighborhood parks and even malls in the winters.

John took pride in being frugal, never indulging, or spending on material or frivolous items. He found joy in living a simple, conservative life, proud to do without to save money. The exception being sweets, this was a clear necessity for John.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen Powers, parents, Florence and Edmund Powers, sisters, Joan Lucas and Sharon Dean.

He is Survived by his sister Patricia Bilafer, née Powers (Bob Bilafer), daughter, Cindy Anderson (Bart Anderson), granddaughter, Jeanette McNulty, two great-grandchildren, Brayden & Scarlett McNulty, and many nieces and nephews, whom he loved and cared for dearly.

A celebration of life luncheon will be held at John’s home on a date to be announced. A granite paver will be installed in the Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park to honor John. Once installed in the fall, we can plan a moment to gather at the park.

Because John loved beauty, flowers, gardens and art, in lieu of flowers, please feel free to donate any memorial contributions to: San Francisco Botanical Garden, https://gggp.org/donate/ .