John Robert Vergoth

John was born on June 10, 1938 in Eveleth, Minnesota to Joseph and Mary (Miroslavich) Vergoth. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Patricia Ross. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marilyn (Johnson) Vergoth, his children, Karin, Carol (Jay) Jasunas, and Michael, and his grandchildren, Ashley Jasunas, Dinah Bowman, Kiara Jasunas, and Henry Bowman. Extended family members include nephew Chris Ross, Carol and Jay Kent, nephews Kevin (Susan Cline) and Brad (Melissa) Kent and families, Angela Jasunas, and Beth Zabel.

John remained close with several of his childhood friends from Eveleth, including Harold Cannon, Carl Pellin, Dave Tomassoni, Jim Karosich, and John Debevec. After attending community college, John enrolled at the University of Minnesota and graduated in 1961 with a B.S. in Math. He moved to the Chicago area and began his teaching career as a junior high math teacher at Jonas Salk School in Rolling Meadows, where he met fellow teacher Marilyn. His teaching colleague Joe Harrell was one of his oldest friends.

John and Marilyn married in 1964 and raised their children in Palatine, Illinois. Karin, Carol, and Michael have many good memories of month-long family camping trips to destinations across the U.S. and family visits in Oregon and Minnesota. They also have fun stories about John teaching them how to drive, trying to instill in them a love for classical music, performing in local community theater productions, and becoming a dedicated runner in mid-life.

John attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and DePaul University, earning his Master of Science degree from IIT. He spent most of his career teaching mathematics at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where he taught a variety of math classes, from remedial math to advanced calculus. John became life-long friends with his teaching colleagues at Maine South and in Maine Township High School District 207, including Mark (Karen) Schmidt, Mike Andrews, Ed Bleeden, Jerry Nelson, Lee Anderson, Tom Gasche, John LaFruit, Charlie Francis, Lee Skinner, and Darrell Dickey. He especially enjoyed their summer hiking trips in the U.S. and Canadian Rockies.

John retired in 1998 after 37 years of teaching (33 of those at Maine South). In 2000, once they had both retired, John and Marilyn moved to Estes Park to enjoy the place that was a favorite family vacation destination for many years.

In Estes Park, John joined a local hiking group and formed close friendships with his fellow hikers, enjoying many happy times with the group, including Nancy and Fred Nemacheck, and Bill and Jan Stock. Larry and Linda Emsing were among his dearest friends.

John was also a devoted grandfather, often driving down to Highlands Ranch and Lafayette to attend his grandchildren’s sporting events and musical performances. He also loved family gatherings, including with Angela and Jack Jasunas, and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park with his children, grandchildren, the Estes Park hiking group and his extended family, including Carol and Jay Kent, Beth Zabel and Jill Davis. He will continue to be with them whenever they hike.

John’s family will miss his kindness, sense of humor, unwavering support, and love. They feel fortunate to have all been in Colorado together for the last several years, enjoying the mountains that he loved so dearly.

In lieu of flowers, his family suggests a donation in John’s name to Estes Park Health or the Rocky Mountain Conservancy.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.allnuttestespark.com for the Vergoth family.