John Jay (J.J.) Fetterly passed away following a long illness at 79 years of age on April 24, 2024, leaving a legacy of kindness and compassion that will continue to bless his family and friends while we remember him as a strong and loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend.
He was born October 5, 1944 in Altadena, California, and lived with his parents, Lewis and Marian, and brother and sister, both deceased, in Arcadia until his graduation from Arcadia High School (Apaches) in 1962. He often shared stories of the freedom he experienced as a child enjoying mostly unsupervised play on the grounds of what is now the Santa Anita Racetrack, as well as the Los Angeles County Arboretum.
John held a lifelong love of baseball, playing in many competitive leagues into adulthood, with the distinction of early recruitment with developing major baseball leagues. He never fulfilled that opportunity, instead placing family responsibilities ahead of himself.
John and Debra were blessed with 52 years of marriage, and with joy and pride, John dedicated his life to being the responsible, hard-working provider for them across the decades, devoting 44 years to his chosen career as a Southern Pacific/Union Pacific Railroad switchman. From nearly the beginning of his railroad career he actively supported the Union, Local 1770 (Los Angeles Yard) first serving as chaplain, then Vice Local Chairman, then elected Local Chairman in 1990, serving in this specific capacity for 26 years.
In 2016, although not entirely eager to finally accept retirement, he relented and he and Debra filled each day with their mutual love of gardening, caring for the birds, beach vacations along the Central Coast and anything they could do to participate in simple pleasures with friends and family.
John valued friends in his life, frequently sharing with Debra the delight he had in meeting some of the Apache “boys” at Jakes for breakfast, or keeping current with the friends he’d made over his 44-year railroad career. In recent days these friendships held special importance to him as he recognized his inability to meet in person, relying on phone calls and messages of support that meant so much to him.
He would want to be remembered most as dad and Papa, proud of his two daughters, two sons (one predeceased), six grandchildren and one young great-grandson. He considered his family his greatest accomplishment, and having such love of family, he had been hoping for more time to be involved in their lives.
While recognizing that his time with us was drawing short, he communicated a strong belief that God had prepared a future for him beyond what he could imagine. In his final week he shared that he wasn’t at all afraid. He looked to the next chapter waiting for him as a time of sweet reunions. “There’s going to be a long line,” he said, thinking of those who have gone before, and his desire to see each one.
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