John Anthony Kieffer

John was born in Artesian, South Dakota, and raised near Carthage. He married his beloved wife, Delores, and together they raised their three boys on a farm in South Dakota before moving to Buena Park, California, in 1965. John later worked for McDonnell Douglas for 22 years before retiring. He and Delores shared 49 years of marriage before Delores’ passing.

John lived in the Casablanca Villas community for 29 years, organizing regular pool and poker games at the clubhouse and finding love again with his devoted companion of 24 years, Sally Harksen. The two shared almost every meal together and enjoyed frequent road trips and ocean cruises.

John was a natural leader and an extraordinarily capable man. Whether he was organizing a fishing trip, tackling a project, planning meals, tending a garden, or simply figuring out what needed to be done, John had a plan. He loved helping people and rarely waited to be asked. He was generous with his time, his knowledge, and especially his food. He was a wonderful cook and took great pleasure in feeding family and friends.

John loved fishing, hunting, camping, gardening, billiards, and, perhaps most of all, playing cards. He was an excellent card player and taught generations of family and friends to play pinochle—and to play it properly. His standards were high: when it was time to play, you were expected to be alert, present, and ready. He lived up to those standards himself until the very end. Five days before his death, John beat his son Rod at pinochle, and the following day he beat his son Jack two games out of three.

John loved his family deeply, especially his “boys.” He raised his sons to be capable men who knew how to finish a job and get things done. He saw them regularly, talked with them often, and always wanted more time with them. When his grandchildren were young, he took them fishing and, of course, taught them to play cards.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Delores; his parents, John and Josephine; his brother, Nickolas “Nick”; his son Kenneth; and his daughter-in-law, Lori Kieffer.

He is survived by his sons, John “Jack” and Rodney “Rod”; his partner of 24 years, Sally Harksen; his daughters-in-law Rebecca and Victoria; his sisters, Betty Ferguson, Mary Major, Virginia Nagelhout, and Veronica Jones. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Michael, Ryan, Joshua, Aprille, and Bonnie, and his great-grandchildren, Jayden, Addison, Connor, William, Leila, Ryan, Melissa, Kadence, Caleb, Landon and Harper

A Mass for John will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Miller-Jones Mortuary, 1501 W. Florida Ave., Hemet, California. A celebration of life will follow at the Casablanca Clubhouse, 28125 Calle Vallarta, Menifee, California.

A second celebration of John’s life will be held September 27 at 11:30 a.m. at the American Legion Hall in Wessington, South Dakota.

John knew how to get things done, how to bring people together, and how to take care of the people around him. He leaves behind a family that carries much of what he taught them—and a great man, many people now know how to play pinochle properly because of him.