John Scholte

John Scholte was born March 4, 1934 in the Netherlands in a town called Twyzel, centrally located in the province of Friesland. His parents were Jasper Scholte and Klaaska Dam. He had a younger sister named Fetje (Faith).

His life path took him from the Netherlands to Michigan, to the Philippines, to Hawaii and California. Growing up during WW2 was a struggle and food was scarce yet John described his life as “an adventure for us children ''. He lost his mother at the early age of ten. His family immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager. At age 19 he joined the US Marines; his service included a year spent in Korea just after the Armistice was signed. He utilized the GI bill to graduate from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and went on to complete his Master of Education degree from Michigan State University.

John was a father, a teacher, an entrepreneur. He spent four years as a missionary and teacher at the Cebu Christian School in the Philippines. He returned to Michigan and taught school for two years before moving his family to Hawaii. There he owned and operated several tourist shops including the Coral Hut, the Kahuku Woodcarving Shop at the Sugar Mill, and finally, the Tropical Hut.

Ultimately, John moved his family to the San Diego area where he again tried his entrepreneurial hat, this time in retail clothing before moving on to real estate. In California he wore many hats, his favorite being that of a writer. He took advantage of life in his 70s to write the books he had always wanted: his autobiography and a novel.

He was a voracious reader and loved history, politics, and classical music. He loved to sing loud in the shower and whistle with joy. He loved riding bikes and rowing a boat. He was a strong swimmer and loved a good swim in the warm tropical ocean. He was proud of his Dutch roots. He had a lot of stories to tell from his time in the Netherlands, a wartime childhood in the heart of World War II when the Netherlands was occupied by Germany.

John was deeply kind, compassionate and fair. He was shy, sensitive, private, gentle, and spontaneous. We’ll remember his little sayings: “For crying out loud”, “For Pete’s sake” and realize it’s these little sayings which we say too, these seemingly insignificant habits, traits and ways, that carry on with us.

John Scholte passed away on Sunday, October 17, 2021. The day after he passed, it began to rain here in California after years of drought. We like to think he did us all a favor and turned on the faucet in the sky. Thank you, Dad, for everything. Your spirit will live on through your many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

John was preceded in death by his sister, Faith Driesenga. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Hedaliza Scholte, daughter Linda (John) Vande Zande, son John (Kimberley Poole) Scholte, son Ronald (Melony) Scholte, son Larry (Daphne Dionisio) Scholte, and daughter Melissa (Nick) Hutchinson. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Visitation with the family will be on Monday, December 6th from 4pm to 8pm at Mira Mesa Presbyterian Church, 8081 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92126.

The funeral will be on Tuesday, December 7th from 9am- 10am at Mira Mesa Presbyterian Church, 8081 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92126, immediately followed by an escorted procession from the church to the Miramar National Cemetery.

Memorial with Military Honors will following the funeral from 11am- 11:30am at

Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego, CA 92122

Catered Reception will be held from 12pm- 2pm at Mira Mesa Presbyterian Church. Please RSVP for this portion of events. Email your RSVP to [email protected]