John William Castle

John William Castle was born on September 28, 1926, in Reliance, South Dakota to Ralph and Verlie Castle. Shortly after completing eighth grade the family moved to Randle, Washington then Centralia Washington where he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942. In the Navy, John became a Machinist Mate Second Class onboard the attack cargo ship U.S.S. Leo and the hospital ship U.S.S. Bountiful. During WWII he was at Iwo Jima, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa to name a few and survived Halsey’s Typhoon.

He met his wife, Elena (Helen) Zirianova on a blind date. Not wanting to leave the love of his life, he was discharged in 1946 in Tsingtao, China and began working for the United Nations as a district manager delivering relief aid. The two married shortly after John was discharged and were happily married for 76 years on September 9, 2022.

John and Helen lived in Tsingtao as John worked for the United Nations. The young couple moved to the United States in 1947 where John opened his own gas station in Centralia. They later moved to Renton in 1948 where John worked for Boeing starting as a machinist, working his way up to general manager of the 737 Wing Line. After the mass layoffs of the 1970’s John worked as a project manager for the building of the Overlake Hospital and started his own company doing fire damage clean up and repair. When Boeing was hiring again he went back to work for them. They lived in Spain for a few years for his job with Boeing and on his return to the states he traveled extensively managing suppliers before he retired in 1991 after a long career.

John passed away peacefully on October 8, 2022. He enjoyed conversations and telling stories to anyone who wanted to listen, cheering on the Seattle Seahawks, and spending time with his family and friends. John was a role model to his family of how to be a good man, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. John William Castle was preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and his daughter Mary Revolinski. He is survived by his wife Helen, his children BJ Castle, Paula (Charles) Engel, Vera (Leo) Werre, (Don Revolinski), 11 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.