John Reed McNitt

John Reed McNitt died on February 20, 2024. He was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, on February 18, 1948. He grew up in Tonkawa, Oklahoma with his brother Gary and his parents George and Carol McNitt. John spent his childhood playing sports and excelling in school. Upon graduation from Tonkawa High School, he attended junior college and played college baseball until he subsequently finished his civil engineering degree at Oklahoma State University.

He took his first job at Black & Veatch in Kansas City, worked there for 29 years, and ultimately made partner at the firm. During his time with Black & Veatch, he had the opportunity to work on many diverse projects all over the world which sparked his lifelong love of travel and a desire to explore diverse cultures all over the world. John completed his master’s degree in engineering management at the University of Kansas taking night classes to prepare for management positions. He met his wife Kim in class at the University of Kansas. In 1999, he took a job with CH2M Hill in Tampa for two years, and then moved to his forever home in San Antonio until his retirement from Critigen in October 2014.

He married Wendy McNitt in January 1973 and had two daughters, Allyson Dianne and Erin Elizabeth. He married Kim McNitt on May 23, 1992, and Katie McNitt was born on April 2, 1996.

John is survived by his wife Kim of 32 years and his three daughters, Allyson, Erin, and Katie McNitt; his brother Gary and his wife Rozella; nephews Guy McNitt and his wife Cynthia, and their daughters Kylie and Tori; and Mark McNitt, his wife Jammie, and son Christian. He also leaves his mother-in-law Vivian Wilkerson, sisters-in-law Karen and husband Jim Wharton, and Janet Wilkerson and her partner David Long; brother-in-law John Wilkerson, niece KayC Wharton; and nephew Justin Wharton.

During his adult life John had a love for all sports. He bowled in several bowling leagues and once bowled a 299 game. He also hit a hole in one on the back nine of Sonterra Country club. During his retirement, he played golf in two leagues until his disease robbed him of the physical strength to play. He followed his sports teams religiously. Kansas basketball was his favorite team and he and Katie were lucky to attend the 2008 Final Four game with a buzzer beater winning shot. Of course, he enjoyed watching the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl one last time this month. While living in San Antonio, he enjoyed 4 of the Spurs 5 NBA championship teams go all the way. We will all be watching Kansas basketball during tournament season wishing he could be with us.

A big part of John and Kim’s life involved adventurous travel. They had the opportunity to go on many golf trips and played golf on some of the most famous courses in the world. They went on many cruises, his favorite being the river cruises they enjoyed in Europe. They also traveled to China, Ecuador, the Galapagos, Argentina, and went on two African safaris.

A celebration of life is scheduled for Saturday 2 March 2024 at 2:00 PM at Porter Loring Mortuary North.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Christian Assistance Ministry in his name where he volunteered for years during his retirement, or to Team Gleason Foundation. Team Gleason is an organization that is working to help people with ALS live their best quality of life after diagnosis.

Christian Assistance Ministry donations can be made online at christianassistanceministry.org

Team Gleason can be reached at https://teamgleason.app.neoncrm.com/forms/john-mcnitt