John Hugh Sherburn

In Memory of John Hugh Sherburn October 6, 1934 – December 4, 2017 (Retired Army) Colonel John H. Sherburn, 83, died December 4, 2017 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, surrounded by his loving family. John was born to Joseph and Loretta Sherburn on October 6, 1934 in Minneapolis, MN. He was the oldest of three boys and is survived by his brothers James Sherburn and Joseph Sherburn, Jr. John grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas and returned there upon his retirement from the U.S. Army. In 1956, John met his wife of 60 years, Lynda Galloway, while working at J.C. Penney’s in Dallas, Texas. They were married on June 2, 1957 and started their family a year later when their first child, John, was born on their first wedding anniversary. Their daughter, Suzan, was born 18 months later, followed by Tamara, a year and a week later. John began his career working in the family business, J.H. Sherburn and Sons, and held part-time jobs at the U.S. Postal Service and J.C. Penney’s while attending college at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. He graduated from NTSU in 1961, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. John began his military career in 1953 and was a loyal Army officer until he retired on July 31, 1989 as a Colonel. He was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. His first overseas assignment was as an Aide-de-camp at the U.S. Army Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taipei, Taiwan from 1966-1969. John and Lynda embraced the Chinese culture and made many lifelong friends. Having a full time live-in nanny named Ako, afforded them the opportunity to travel extensively around Asia. John had many fond memories of those early years in Taiwan. “In each assignment he excelled beyond all expectations through the application of total dedication, unswerving loyalty, absolute technical knowledge, commitment to excellence and sound managerial acumen, “ wrote Lt. General Ronald Watts about John when he completed his assignment at VII Corps in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1988. Over his military career, John and his family moved 15 times. John was stationed in Norfolk, VA; Ft. Rucker, AL; Ft. Jackson, SC; Taipei, Taiwan; Ft. Mead, MD; Ft. Leavenworth, KS; Ft. Hood, TX (3 times); Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Washington D.C. (Pentagon); Silver Spring, MD (Walter Reed Hospital); Stuttgart, Germany; and White Sands Missile Range, NM. After retiring from military service, John returned to the family business, and enjoyed golf, gardening, watching his beloved Cowboys and Rangers, keeping up on the stock market, and visiting his cabin in Ruidoso, NM. His last seven months were spent at the Morningstar Assisted Living in Albuquerque, NM, where he enjoyed sharing his life stories with the staff, eating Iva’s special breakfast and green chili stew, and taking many trips to Walmart with his daughter Tamara. John leaves his wife of 60 years, Lynda (Galloway), his three children, their spouses, grandchildren, and great grandchildren: John and Karen (Reid) Sherburn of Royse City, TX and grandchildren Melinda, Bradley and Damon, and great grandchildren Haley, Iyanna, Mckenzie, Sadie, and Jordan; Suzan and Mark (Stulberger) and grandson, Stelen; Tamara and Kirk (Gadzia) and grandchildren Cori, Graham, and Hugo. John will be laid to rest at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM in the spring. Remembrance may be directed in John’ name to the COPD Foundation at https://www.copdfoundation.org/ Correspondence may be sent in care of P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004.