John A Tyson

John Anthony Tyson passed away on October 15, 2024 at the Veterans Community Living Center in Rifle, Colorado. John was born on November 13, 1932 in Pueblo, Colorado to Benjamin Tyson and Patricia Abbott, a coal miner and a nurse. John had three younger siblings: Jean, Henry and Patricia.

In 1945, his family moved to Trinidad, Colorado where he was active in the Catholic Church as an altar boy and the Boy Scouts where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. After high school John attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s Cadet Pilot Program and received a commission of Second Lieutenant. John then pursued pilot training between 1952 and 1955 in single and multi-engine aircraft before being called to active duty in the Air Force.

In 1958 John was honorably discharged from the Air Force and accepted employment as a commercial pilot flying trans-pacific routes. During this time, he met and married Sharon Louise Marsh. In the years following, the couple had four children: Shannon, Lisa, Sean and Brian.

Shortly after Brian’s birth, John’s reserve officer status was reactivated by President Kennedy. Between 1964 to 1965 he was assigned to Travis Air Force Base (AFB) near Sacramento, California to fly C-124 transport aircraft in service to the war in Vietnam. He was subsequently transferred to the US Air Base in Chateauroux, France to fly C-47 and DC-3 transport aircraft. In 1966, France left NATO and all US forces were reassigned to duty stations in other countries. John was assigned to McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington, and later volunteered for helicopter pilot training at Shepherd AFB in Wichita Falls, Idaho and Mountain Home AFB in Idaho.

In 1970, John volunteered to serve the US operations in Vietnam and Thailand flying helicopter search and rescue and firefighting missions while based at DaNang Air Base in Vietnam and Korat Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. In 1971, John was assigned to Royal Air Force Base Upper Heyford, England, where he continued to support air rescue and fire fighting missions. In 1973, John received his final military assignment to F.E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he joined the Strategic Air Command’s 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron. During this time, he completed his Master’s degree in Psychology, a subject of great interest to him.

For all of his life he enjoyed being outdoors, fishing, hunting and above all else, being a pilot. He loved his family dearly and traveling and exploring with his wife. In 1978, John retired from the Air Force at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and in the following 20 years, he worked first as a realtor in Cheyenne, and then as a ground school instructor with Lear jet pilots for Flight Safety International in Wichita, KS. In 1998, John and Sharon moved to Grand Junction, Colorado to fully retire and enjoy his home state.

John was sadly preceded in death by his son Brian and his wife Sharon, and is survived by his three children Shannon (Matthew) Rogoyski, Lisa (Eric) Cox and Sean Tyson. John has six grandchildren: Cameron Tyson, Sharon Gerstenberger, Kyle Kirkman, Eric Gerstenberger, Caitlyn Kirkman and Emma Tyson.

A funeral mass will be held on Monday, November 25, 2024 at 11:00 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church with a reception to follow at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary. Burial at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado will be held in spring of 2025. Memorial donations can be made to the Veterans Community Living Center in Rifle, Colorado, or to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org.