John Montajes Canillo, beloved son, brother, husband, uncle, father, and grandfather whom we lost suddenly in his sleep on Tuesday, February 28th, 2018. Healthy, active, and like a thief in the night, he's gone.
You would have loved this guy. Never met a stranger who he didn’t immediately welcomed into his circle of friends. John loved life and could always be caught belting a hearty laugh. He'd be the first on the karaoke machine and on the dance floor. A welder by trade in Las Vegas, he spent recent years touring in his RV and taking his friends deep sea fishing in his boat. He assembled an impressive backyard workshop (and private party room!) as a moonlight mechanic, and generously shared his engineering gifts to keep his friends moving.
And did he have friends! They spanned the Pacific from his hometown in the Philippines to his large family in America. Fishing buddies, bowling leagues, a bicycle club, casino and culture center friends. John's disposition was so comfortable because he offered no pretense. You knew how he felt, and it was usually a reflection of his joy to be in your company.
The following is a story from Shannon Swenson (nephew)…. In 2006, we had the pleasure of traveling with him to the Philippines, meeting his mother, diving for abalone, singing and drinking San Miguel beer on the Manila Baywalk at night. When we took a boat tour around Olongapo and Subic Bay, the old rundown vessel died. While the operator fidgeted with the radio amid nervous passengers in a boat drifting toward the South China Sea, Uncle John removed the engine cowl and got to work. "Okay start it! Wait. Hold on. Try it again! Again! Again! Stop! Crank it now!" The motor coughed back to life and we turned to shore. How I admired the paradox of Uncle John: a man of action and a man of leisure!
April Swenson (niece) also remembers as a young girl, she joined her aunt and uncle and cousins on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. The car needed repairs, and apparently, when the shady mechanics tried to stick him with an inflated bill, he exploded. His fierce reaction reveals his deep sense of justice. Surely God loves the heroic man keen on restoring moral order and the protection of his family.
John lived a bold life. From a struggling childhood to an adult life filled with friends from all over the world.
