Obituary of John Elder

A funeral service for John Elder, age 86, will be held Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 2:00pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery. A memorial service will be held on December 3, 2022 at 10am at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 2000 Diamond Dr. Los Alamos NM 87544.

John Carroll Elder passed away peacefully on November 19, 2022 after experiencing a series of strokes. He is survived by his son Jay Elder, brothers James Elder and Robert Elder, nieces Debra Elder and Tara Shively, nephews David Elder, Michael Elder, Samuel Elder, Scot Elder, and Stephen Elder, and many (Great-) Grand-nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Walter and Johanna Tolk Elder, his wife Jean McClintic Elder, and his sisters Mary Elder and Laura Pogue.

John was born in Amarillo, Texas on September 16, 1936. His family moved to Clayton, New Mexico in 1947. John graduated from Clayton High School in 1954, University of New Mexico in 1958, and University of Oklahoma in 1972.

John fulfilled his dream of working on the nuclear propulsion system of the civilian surface ship NS Savannah. In 1960 he arrived at the shipyard in Camden NJ and was aboard ship until 1964 when he returned to New Mexico “having had what I thought was a remarkable experience aboard the greatest ship afloat”.

In 1964 John joined Los Alamos National Laboratory and retired in 1993. From 1993 until 2002 John worked as a consultant with Science Applications.

John and Jean were founding members of Redeemer Lutheran Church and served actively Los Alamos Family YMCA. John served faithfully Gideons International and many charitable organizations. He was a man of deep faith and generous spirit. Please consider a memorial contribution to Food Depot thefooddepot.org.