John Gallup Christol

John was born Christmas Day, December 25, 1940 in Vermillion, South Dakota. He graduated from Fort Monroe High School in 1958, and went to South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. He then joined the Army Corps of Engineers, stationed in Germany. While in Germany, John met Gunilla Pettersson, a beautiful Swedish woman working in Germany at the US Army base. John and Gunilla fell in love and got married in Uppsala, Sweden in 1966. John left the Army with honorable discharge, and they soon moved to California for John to continue his education at UC Berkeley where he earned his MBA from Haas School of Business.

After a short career at IBM, John’s entrepreneurial spirit took shape, and he decided he’d prefer to be his own boss. Looking into businesses locally, he settled on a drycleaning business in Santa Clara, CA. With this new endeavor underway, John and Gunilla moved to the south bay, eventually landing in Saratoga, CA. John and Gunilla built their drycleaning business from the ground up, working as hard as they could, to include multiple storefronts and having a significant footprint in the south bay. John had no qualms working from 4:30am to 4:30pm on most days. His kids never heard him complain. He was as smart as could be, had a sincere sense of humor, and a caring spirit. He was diligent and frugal, and saved enough to invest in investment properties in the bay area. His decisions allowed him to take amazing care of his family, and provide a legacy for his children and grandchildren.

During his life he was interested in hiking, camping, mountain climbing, skiing, and golfing. He reached the top of Mt. Shasta, Mt. Whitney, and Mt. Rainier. He twice completed the Yosemite High Sierra 50-mile loop. He took his family skiing in the Sierra Nevadas every year. He built a ski cabin in the Tahoe area for his family to use year-round. This home is still used by the Christol family for lots of winter and summer fun. He was also very dedicated to his kids’ activities, including as soccer and baseball coach, and as Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 508 in Saratoga, CA, ever-proud of helping his son, Steven, reach the rank of Eagle Scout. He also helped support his daughter Sarah through Girl Scout activities including participating in a troop that traveled through Europe.

After retiring and selling the dry cleaning business, John and Gunilla retired to Sun City Lincoln where they made many friends and had a fulfilling and engaging life for 18 years.

There are many family and friends here in Lincoln and around the world that will miss him terribly. He is survived by his wife, Gunilla Christol, his children Sarah Christol, Anna Miller and Steven Christol, and his grandchildren Myles and Isaac Miller. He is also survived by his sister Judy Lynch, and his brother Jim Christol and the extended families.

There will be a memorial service on March 26, 2022 at 12:00pm at La Provence in Roseville (masks & vaccinations required). In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the American Breast Cancer Foundation. https://placerbreastcancerfoundation.org/