John Lawrence Attridge

John was born on June 12, 1941 to Mildred (Holdaway) Attridge and William Lawrence Attridge in Bath, England.

John lived in Bath until the age of 4 and then moved to London. On November 28th 1957, at age 16, John immigrated to the United States on the Queen Elizabeth. For 5 years he lived with his sister and brother-in-law’s family (June and Dermot) working on the Kelly family farm in Burnside, Illinois.

On June 18, 1962, just after he turned 21 years of age, John joined the United States Air Force and remained in service for 4 years 9 months, flying around the globe fixing and maintaining U.S.A.F. aircraft. After exiting active duty, John stayed with the U.S.A.F. working as a civilian for the Department of Defense, working in several positions involving aircraft, aircraft environmental systems, logistics, special fuels, support equipment and program management until he retired in 2002, with over 40 years of service.

John’s hobbies included camping, fishing, dove hunting, kayaking, skiing, and fixing things (John could fix or jury-rig anything!), BBQ’ing, tinkering and working around his property and always prepared for the unexpected.

John loved aircraft; his favorite aircraft was the F-22 Raptor but he said he also loved the F-100 Super Sabre for sentimental reasons. John also loved music, animals, firearms and spending time with his family and friends, laughing and having a drink. John was the type of person you would want to be around; always kind, generous and loving. He made the most out of any situation with a positive attitude. John helped many and seemed to always be the ‘go to’ person in time of crisis. John was a source of strength, a solid foundation, logical, rational, a rescuer, a father figure to more than just his own children and a hero to many. If you knew John, you loved and admired him. John has a strong relationship with God and communicated with him often.

John was preceded in death by his beloved mother Mildred, his father William, his two sisters June Attridge Kelly and Lillian Attridge Baldock, and his older brother Michael Attridge who died very young.

John is survived by his wife Janet Roddy, his children Michael Mark Attridge, Ann Marie Attridge, Maureen Elizabeth Attridge, Karen Eve Attridge, the mother of his children, Maria Galan Rivera, his grandchildren, James Anthony Kirkpatrick, Alyssa Blair Monte, Alexander Colin Monte, his niece, Sheila Monroe Kelly, his nephews, Michael and Mark Baldock, and his ‘just like his own children’, Carlos Kirkpatrick and Ian Wilson, both of whom were instrumental in his last months and a source of enormous support.