John Kofton died on June 27th 2022 at his home in Florence, Montana, with his beloved companion Eleanor McKenna holding his hand. He maintained his near complete independence until the last few days out of sheer will, despite numerous serious health challenges including late stage bladder cancer and heart failure. He had a sense of humor until the end, but also struggled with anxiety and depression over his and his wife's illness and the transition of his role from care-giver to care-receiver. He received hospice care at home from the wonderful people at Home Health and Hospice of Montana, his daughter-in-law Judi McKenna Kelley and her family, and his niece Shara Alexander.

John Alfred Kofton was born on September 30th, 1929 in Portland, Oregon to Mary Pauline Clemens Kofton and Alfred Daniel Kofton. His parents divorced and he was raised by his father in Seattle, Washington where he attended high school, majoring in printing. He worked in commercial printing from high school until he retired and briefly owned his own print shop in Seattle. In 1949 he married Louise Lucille Galtier Johnson, and they relocated to Long Beach California. They were married 51 years, she died in 1999. He served active duty with the Marines from 1952 to 1954, and was stationed in Japan. He was a member of the Marine Corps Reserves for 24 years and retired as a Master Sergeant in 1976. He was very proud to be a Marine.

John loved the open road, and he loved his Buicks. He and Lou took regular road trips around the American Southwest. In 1971 they logged over 9,000 miles across the United States in their Itasca motor home. They were also life members of the Route 66 club. In the early 2000's he took a creative writing class and he began writing stories of his own life, and recollections of his wife's childhood stories from the early part of the last century in Montana and California. He also loved classic movies, Country Western music, and he taught himself to draw at age 75.

In 2006 he met his second true love Eleanor McKenna on Match.com. They began dating and soon were inseparable. They traveled throughout the West with favorite stops in Carmel, Las Vegas and abandoned mining towns. Until 2018 he wrote travel pieces and covered local news for the Tehachapi News and continued to collect and write stories of the American West and American History. He and Eleanor moved to Florence, Montana in 2019 to be closer to Eleanor's daughter.

We will miss John's strength, his humor, his funny faces and most of all his love and devotion to his family and his intrepid and determined nature.

John requested cremation and requested his ashes be divided between his two favorite girls - in California with Eleanor at her passing and at his wife's grave in Deer Lodge, Montana.