John David Lorentzen

He was born in Boone, Iowa, on March 9, 1957, to Frank Lorentzen and Elizabeth Jane Lorentzen (nee Carlson). He spent about five years of his childhood in Pakistan, where his father was a maintenance supervisor on the project to build the Mangla Dam on the Jhelum River near Rawalpindi. John was known for leaving the project’s community and visiting nearby villages, making friends and having tea with the local people.

When hostilities between Pakistan and India increased, John’s mom took him and his sister back to the U.S. until things calmed down. When it was safer, the three rejoined John’s dad in Pakistan for another two years. By the time John was 11, he had been around the world twice. During his travels, he visited such far-flung places as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, the Philippines, New Dehli, the Khyber Pass, Beirut, and his maternal grandparents' homeland of Sweden. He moved to Tucson with his parents and sister on Dec. 1, 1967.

As a young teenager, John spent three summers on the Hat Six Ranch outside of Casper, Wyoming, near where his dad was working at the J. Paul Getty uranium mine at Shirley Basin. The ranch hands at the Hat Six (including the owners’ sons Bobby, Jimmy and Tony Chaput, and the hands from Iowa, Dennis and his brothers) took him under their wings and taught him to ride and rope, which he loved.

These were magical summers for John, riding horses in the meadow, helping round up and bring horses back from the mountains, visiting his dad’s work site, helping the ranch hands pick up bales of hay and whitewash visitors’ cottages, having fun at the annual barbeques that drew hundreds of people from all over, helping the ranch hands fix fences and survey land on the back side of Casper Mountain, playing softball and horseshoes, visiting local lakes, fishing and learning to drive his dad’s small outboard motor boat.

John graduated from Rincon High School in Tucson, attended the University of Arizona, and served in the U.S. Navy, of which he was very proud. His time in the service took him to the San Diego and the Seattle areas, as well as on Navy cruises to Hawaii, Australia and beyond. He returned to Tucson in about 2007 and spent the rest of his days there.

A talented maintenance mechanic by trade, John was a charming person with a wonderful sense of humor who touched many lives. He was married three times, to three very special women: Susan (the mother of his son), Cindy and Brenda. In his spare time, he loved spending time in nature and with his best friend, David Lindsey.

John had his fair share of challenges coping with the demands of life. Many people tried to help him along the way, and we are grateful to them. We find some small solace in knowing that his struggles are now over.

John was predeceased by his parents and his brother Frank. He is survived by his son Daniel (Lori); grandchildren Vincent and Veronica; brother Leonard (Barbara); sister Karin (David Buus); niece Lisa Sullivan (Clark); nephews Christopher (Wendy), Frank (Rosangela), Richard (Lisa) and Stephen (Genie), and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

John will be laid to rest near his parents at East Lawn Palms Mortuary, Mausoleum 58, 5801 E. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ, in an informal ceremony on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 at 11 a.m. Family and friends are welcome to attend and to share memories of John.