John William Francis

John William Francis recently celebrated his 75th Birthday! He was born in Indianapolis, IN on Flag Day, June 14, 1946. John was proud to say that he shared his birthday with former President Trump. His parents were George William Francis and Emma Cook. And, like his father, he was an only child. John went to be with our Lord and Savior on Sunday, July 11, 2021. He passed away very quickly and peacefully at 4:15 AM due to ALS and complications.

John is survived by his wife, Lynice (Lynn) Francis of 28 years. His stepdaughters, Allison Thomas and Robyn DiPasquale, his son-in-law Matthew DiPasquale and his three grandchildren Isabella, William and Andrew DiPasquale

He lived in Indianapolis –graduating from Southport High School in 1966. He enrolled in Purdue University, West Lafayette Campus, where he graduated in June of 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering with a Math minor. He was a member of Alpha Phi Omega, Tau Omicron Chapter.

While in college John served in the US Air Force Active Ready Reserve Service from January 1966 – 1972 when he was Honorably Discharged as a Staff Sargent, from the 911th Civil Engineering Flight Group, Pittsburg, PA. While in the reserves, John became an Electrical Power Production Specialist/Technician, furthering his electrical training.

Upon graduation from Purdue, John was hired as an Electrical Sales Engineer by I-T-E Electrical Manufacturing Co. in Pittsburgh, PA, later moving to West Virginia before his last job transfer to Denver, CO in 1978 as the Industrial/OEM Sales Manager. His professional career continued to progress even with the sale of his employer, I-T-E, to Gould, and then to Siemens–Allis, which later became Siemens Energy & Automation.

In 1982 he became the Construction Sales Manager managing a construction marketing program in a six state area. His claims to fame were some of the major building projects in Denver – Tabor Center, City Center Four, Orchard Center, Stapleton Terminal expansion and the Storage Tech Optical Facility. During this time, he met Lynn when she went to work for Gould in the Denver office. They dated for a number of years and later married on July 3, 1993.

In 2003, John retired from Siemens, with 28 years of service. He then did consulting work and started his own company, Phoenix Services Inc., installing automated doors on car washes. He had developed a controller to work with car wash systems. John closed the business in 2006 once bank lending for carwash installations became more challenging. He then went to work as the electrical engineer for ServTech Services in Lafayette, CO, a longtime customer, where he worked for 10 years before retiring again and moving to Texas with Lynn in 2016 to be close to family.

John wasn't all work and no play! While in college, he and close friends became interested in SCCA sports car racing. He raced in many states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In 1983, John won a place in the finals at SCCA Road Atlanta. For a few years, he also participated in Vintage car racing at Steamboat Springs, CO with the Red Lotus he had restored. He gave up all racing when he and Lynn married in 1993. John then funneled his love of cars completely into restorations. His car passion developed at a young age going to the car auctions with his Dad. They would buy, repair and sell them. John had his first car at the early age of 12. You will see a lot of the cars he has restored in the pictures here today. John's beloved, fully restored, Red 1972 Corvette is still in the garage.

Once in Texas, John joined the Lone Star Corvette Club; North Texas Corvette Club; and Good Guys Rod And Custom Assn.. He enjoyed doing the car shows and as well as helping at the Good Guys events.

John and Lynn have always enjoyed driving and seeing the countryside-searching out beauty and history in the US and in other countries. But, their favorite trip was always their annual family visit to Vail, CO over the July 4th holiday which they enjoyed for almost 18 years.

John had a full life and one well spent. He is greatly missed by all who loved him and had a part in his journey.