John Vincent de Montmollin of
Cedarburg peacefully transitioned to Heaven on May 20, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. at the age of 90
years and 9 months. Beloved husband of
Elizabeth (nee Kochanski) for 46 years.
Loving Dad of Lisa (Tim) Tamsen of Grafton, Jackie (Aaron Layman) de
Montmollin of Katy, TX, John (Alyssa Stephenson) de Montmollin of Fond du Lac,
and Jennifer (Dan Merkel) de Montmollin of Shorewood. Proud Papa of Josiah, Samuel, John, Aidan,
Julia, Tommy, Nedy, Yubin, Vivian, and Kamron.
Brother-in-law of Janet Stamper of Grafton. Dancing in Heaven with his much-missed
granddaughter, Libby.
Born August 8, 1923 in Milwaukee to
Mabel (Peterson) and John Samuel de Montmollin.
An adventurous character always, his childhood stories include having
leapt off his third story apartment fire escape to three feet of freshly fallen
snow below. He would always add, “And I
thought mid-air, ‘I shouldn’t have done this’ — but it was too late!” In what would become typical form for his
life, he landed unscathed. At age 11,
with nothing more than six soda crackers and 37 cents in his pocket, he
hitchhiked from Milwaukee to Van Nuys, California to visit his Grandma “Big
Mama” and his Aunt Vivian. From sleeping
in straw piles, riding box cars and catching rides with truckers, many of whom
bought him meals along the way, he eventually made his way. He stayed a week and rode the Greyhound bus
back, as insisted upon by his aunt who also gave him $2.00 for his trip home.
“A fortune back then; hamburgers were a nickel,” he often recalled.
In September of 1942, de Montmollin
enlisted in the army to serve in World War II.
He was placed in the Army Air Corps, the forerunner to the United States
Air Force. On his 18th
mission on May 14, 1943 over Kiel, Germany, his B-17 was shot down and he and
the rest of the crew parachuted to capture.
He spent the next two years of his life as a prisoner of war, first in
Germany for a few months, and then at Stalag XVII B prison camp in Austria
until the end of the war.
Home from the war in 1945 and reenlisted
as a reservist, he worked hard day to day to go about a carefree civilian
existence of work and play, with memories of his P.O.W. days ever-present. Twenty years after returning from the war
while working as a photofinisher at L.L. Cook Company in Milwaukee, he met a
delightful young woman who immediately caught his eye for her tremendous work
ethic, and also, perhaps, her smashing good looks. In 1967, de Montmollin married Elizabeth
(Liz) and insisted that her five-year-old daughter, Lisa, join them as they
tied the knot in Las Vegas and honeymooned at Disneyland. A year later, as soon as the law permitted
him to do so, he formally adopted Lisa, though he had made her his daughter
from the start.
From that point on, his life was
about his family. Shortly after
marriage, the family built a home in Grafton, back when Grafton was “way out
there” and mostly corn fields. He and
Liz went on to have three more children.
He was the kind of dad who took his family to Harrington Beach on random
summer days, who played “pop fly” catch in the backyard for hours at a time,
who got up at 4:00 a.m. to help his kids with their paper route (and didn’t
even wake them up on the super cold days, but did the route himself), who sat
bedside with a flu-stricken kid giving them sip at a time of 7-Up all the while
telling them, “I wish it was me who was sick, not you.” Simply put, he was there. He gave the very best
of himself to his children.
He was blessed to see each
child grow up happy and healthy, get married, and have children — like him,
both by birth and adoption. He was
blessed to experience tremendously good health his whole life, allowing him to
experience many family trips later in life, to places such as Hawaii, Europe,
the Caribbean, Canada, and annual family trips to Door County. He loved nothing more than being all together
with his children and grandchildren. At
the age of 87, he walked three miles each day at Cedar Creek Park in Cedarburg,
one of his favorite places. He always
said, “I think better when I walk — but not when I walk on concrete, it has to
be a squishy path.” Though his body
started to slow at 87, he still walked at least a mile each day until 89 when
his health became more challenged. In
the end, though he battled aggressive lymphoma, he did so with his trademark
strength, selflessness, and humor. His
children are blessed and honored to have spent so much of the week of his
passing together with him and Liz at their Cedarburg home.
“My father didn’t tell me how to
live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” -C. B. Kelland
Life
Celebration on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at New Life Church, N56W6093 Portland
Road in Cedarburg at 10:00am. Picnic
lunch and Military Honors to follow at Cedar Creek Park Pavilion, located
across the street from the church. In
lieu of flowers, a fund has been established at Associated Bank in memory of
John for a legacy gift to Cedar Creek Park.
Donations to the John V. de
Montmollin Cedar Creek Park Memorial Fund can be made in person at any
Associated Bank branch, or can be mailed to Associated Bank at 1930 Wisconsin
Avenue, Grafton, WI 53024.
Love.
