John Wayne Champion

He was born in Okemah, Oklahoma to Beulah and R.C. Champion on 9/6/1949. John moved with his family to Tranquillity, CA as an infant and lived the rest of his life in California.

John graduated from Tranquillity High School in 1967. He joined the United States Coast Guard on 5/26/1969, where he was stationed at Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco. John was an enlisted diver and received accommodations in September, 1970 for the rescue of 3 survivors from a burning SUBJ Boat. John also received a Letter of Appreciation from the Golden Gate Ferry Transit and USCG Commander H.J. Lynch for his work in conjunction with the ground breaking at Larkspur, March,1972. John was attached to Units that assisted with detonations and explosives in Concord, was a Master Diver who conducted underwater inspections of Twelfth District Vessels around Treasure Island and Alcatraz Island. John was an accomplished scuba diver, assigned to the U.S. Naval School San Diego in May 1971. He received a Letter of Accommodation in August 1972 from USCG Group/Base, San Francisco for his performance and participation during the levee breaks at Andrus Island which flooded Andrus and Brannan Islands, including the town of Isleton. John assisted in the rescue of 14 people and for towing over 72 stranded boats to safe water over a period of five days. John was also given Letters of Appreciation for leadership in rescuing stranded boats near Oakland and Concord while stationed at Fisherman’s Wharf and completed his service on 5/25/1973.

John served his community as a firefighter for CalFire from 1976-77. He then worked for John Deere as mechanic for 3 years before moving on to Gragnani Farms, where he worked as a tractor mechanic for 35 years until his retirement in 2017.

John was married to Loretta Elwood, his high school sweetheart on July 20th, 1973, until his passing. They celebrated 49 years of marriage. Together they had twin daughters, Amy and Elizabeth, and their younger sister Diana. John and Loretta’s family has grown over the years, to include Amy’s husband David and their children, Emily, Jesse and Anthony, Elizabeth’s husband Joseph and their Children Joey, Matty and Gracie, and Diana’s partner Jason and her children Daniel, Mikey and Ali. Along with John’s 6 grandchildren and their loving partners he was also great grandfather to Isabella, Penelope and Lanie. John’s most favorite titles were Husband and Father, his grandchildren and great grandchildren were the lights of his life. He is also survived by his Brother Paul Lancaster of Tranquillity, CA, his sister Barbara and her husband Don Kelley and their family, of San Mateo, Ca, and his brother Jerry and his wife Bernie and their family, of Kerman, CA.

John is preceded in death by his parents R.C. and Beulah Champion and Judy McDonald all of Tranquillity, CA.

Funeral services for John will be held at Stephens & Bean Funeral Home in Fresno, CA on May 9th at 10:00am, followed by Graveside services at Fresno Memorial Gardens. A reception will be held after the services at the Tranquillity Methodist Church. The Champion family would like to express their sincerest gratitude and thankfulness to Beth Stidham and the Tranquillity Lions Club as well as all of John’s family and friends. In lieu of flowers our family gratefully asks that donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.stephensandbean.com for the Champion family.