John D. Weatherhead passed away on Wednesday morning, April 13, 2022, in the Villages, FL. A loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend, always with an easy smile and contagious laugh, John was a respected publisher, avid golfer, spirited traveler, and a real sports aficionado.
Born in 1947 in Morristown, MN, John was the youngest of three children born to Donald and June Weatherhead. As a child, he attended class at a one room schoolhouse, and worked on the family farm before and after class. In high school, John met the love of his life, Illona Schultz. They worked together at the school newspaper and attended the senior prom together. Besides lettering in three sports, John was also the only boy in his school not afraid to dance.
After graduating from Morristown High School in 1965, he reported for basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, IL. In September 1966 he returned home to marry Illona. Two months later, he reported for active duty in the United States Navy at Balboa Naval Base, in San Diego, where he served on the USS Mullany.
After serving in the Navy, he and Illona returned to Minnesota where John started his forty-year career in construction industry publishing, beginning as a news reporter for the Construction Bulletin. As his career advanced and his family grew, he moved to New Berlin, WI in 1975 and headed up the Associated Construction Publications as Executive Vice President. He tried retiring in 2007, but found that he missed the work. He continued to consult with Reed Construction, then started Weatherhead Custom Publishing, working with associations including the American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA) and the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA). For the past 5 years, John teamed up with his friends at Construction Equipment/Scranton Gillette. He also served on the Board of Directors at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), as secretary and treasurer of the Florida LICA, and as the President of Weatherhead Custom Publishing Company. John was highly respected in his field and honored with numerous awards. His employees said he was the best boss: a problem solver and natural salesman who supported his staff and always backed them up.
John was that dad who was always coaching his kids’ baseball, softball, and basketball teams, and gathering the neighborhood kids for rousing games of pickle, home run derby, and HORSE. Although John somehow managed to raise two huge Packers fans, he was himself a Minnesota Vikings fan through and through, as evidenced by those beloved Viking horns and the purple accents on his golf cart. He spent most Sundays texting back and forth with his children, razzing one another about who’s team was or wasn’t winning.
When John’s children were young, the family spent many summers in Hayward, WI, where they fished, swam, hunted for snipe, lounged on rafts in the water, and golfed along the banks of Lake Placid. John was a doting Pop Pop to his grandsons. When they visited, he would take them on long golf cart rides through the winding paths of the Villages, in search of the elusive Larry, a giant alligator who may or may not have existed; and he would always make sure to stop for ice cream on the way home.
John had a unique ability to bring friends together through fun games and competitions. He enjoyed coordinating various events, including the Morristown SuperStars, neighborhood Easter egg hunts, and countless golf outings. A decade ago, John began organizing the Big Ten Ryder Cup golf competitions between friends from Morristown, MN and The Villages. The annual event grew steadily over the years and brought together friends new and old in a competition that prized the good-natured ribbing as much as the birdies. As the Captain of the Minnesota Squad, John experienced one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of golf when, after a nine-year dry spell, they secured the 2022 trophy this past February.
John was also a collector of beer memorabilia and served on the board of the American Breweriana Association (ABA) as a National Director. He enjoyed planning the annual meetings and had an impressive collection from the Fleckenstein Brewing Company of Faribault, MN, that he loved to talk about.
A keen observer of human behavior, John once opined: “There’s nothing funnier than people.” He was always expanding his circle of acquaintances and friends, and he truly prized the fellowship he cultivated with them.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and June Weatherhead, sisters Pat Honken and Phyllis Weatherhead, and brothers-in-law Bill Honken and DuWayne Schultz.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Illona, children Alan Weatherhead (Catherine) of Asheville, NC and Amy Thompson (Chris) of Athens, GA, and his grandchildren Beckett and Bay Thompson of Athens GA. He is also survived by his brother Jim Weatherhead (Susan) of MN, sister-in-law Deanna Acord (Larry) of Cedar Rapids, IA, several nephews, and his beloved grandcats and granddogs BK, Lucky, Hammy, and Maisie.
A Celebration of Life and Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on May 20, 2022, at Hope Lutheran Church, 250 Avenida Los Angelos, The Villages, FL 32162.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in John’s name may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, PO BOX 758516, Topeka, KS 66675 or https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org.