John Andrew Whitaker

Born on January 23, 1954, in Palo Alto, California, John was the son of Alfred Andrew Whitaker Jr. and Leona Grace Whitaker. He grew up in Whittier, California, before his mother moved him and his sister, Debbie Munch, to Galesburg, Illinois where he spent part of his high school years. John played football and basketball for his high school teams and graduated from Lowell High School after the family returned to Whittier, California. John attended UCLA, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from California State University, Long Beach.

John began his professional life as a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch, but took to heart a piece of advice from his grandfather Al: that if a man hadn't found himself by the age of thirty, he ought to find a stable job with the government. John did exactly that, and for thirty-five years he served as a commercial real estate appraiser for the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office.

As a young man, John lived fully. He played full-court basketball for hours at Mile Square Park, enjoyed windsurfing in Alamitos Bay, fished regularly off the jetties along the Southern California coastline, and loved listening to live music at the clubs around Los Angeles. He was a devoted fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams, and spent many weekends in the local mountains he loved.

The most meaningful chapter of John's life began in 1991, when he met Maria. After only a few months together, Maria was set to return to Mexico to continue her career as a nurse. But John was certain he had found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. They were married in Long Beach in September of 1991 and Guadalajara in October of 1991.

John and Maria started their life together in Long Beach before relocating to Corona, so that their children — Andrew, born in 1996, and Daniella, born in 1999 — could grow up close to their cousins. John was determined to be a loving and present father in every season of his children's lives. He tutored them when they were young, drove his son to baseball and soccer practices, made sure his daughter knew how deeply she was loved, took the family on wonderful vacations, and put both of his children all the way through their university programs. He was an extraordinary father and gift-giver.

He often reminded his children that he never expected to be repaid for what he gave them. What he asked for instead was that they pay it forward — to one day give their own children what he had worked so hard to give them. It was one of the great satisfactions of his life to see those efforts ripple into the next generation.

In 2024, John suffered a sudden and serious decline in health due to lung and heart failure. He fought through a difficult month-long hospitalization in the ICU, with his wife Maria at his side

every single day, and he came home. In the two years that followed, he earned the pleasure of celebrating his son Andrew's marriage to Janelle Cabral, holding his first grandchild, Adeline, and toasting the engagement of his daughter Daniella to William Hackett. He took great comfort in knowing that his children had begun their own loving families.

John is survived by his wife Maria; his son Andrew, daughter-in-law Janelle, and granddaughter Adeline; his daughter Daniella and her fiance William; his sister Debbie; his brother Eric; and his cousins Sandra Bond and Dan Blaha.

He was preceded in death by his father Alfred Andrew Whitaker Jr. and his mother Leona Grace Fritz Whitaker.

John Whitaker understood that the most important things a man does in his life are done for the people he loves. He gave everything he had to his family, and they were better for it in ways they will spend their whole lives discovering.