Obituary: John Flinner

John Flinner, 71, passed away peacefully on May 19, 2016. John was born on June 13, 1944 to Delmar John and Virginia Lee (Hooper) Flinner in Canton, Ohio.

The family moved to Los Angeles in 1954, and John attended Lenox High School. But, salt water was in his veins, and a sea wind was at his back. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1962, and over the next 24 years rose through the ranks, from E1 to Chief Warrant Officer 04. As John put it: “I sailed the Seven Seas and crossed all the oceans.”

John saw duty on a variety of ships, including a tour as auxiliary materials officer on the mighty USS Constellation, a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier that saw extensive duty during the Vietnam War. John was an ace mechanic and could repair anything. His dedication to duty, his willingness to share his expertise, and his fairness to his subordinates, earned him the love and respect of all those around him.

Following active duty in the Navy, John spent 16 years with the Department of Defense, inspecting equipment and recommending repair techniques. He taught at San Diego City College, specializing in HVAC engineering and repair.

John married the love of his life, Carol Knapp, in 1967. They are the parents of sons Michael, Jonathan and Ethan, and a daughter, Michele (deceased). Their friends, Nancy and Dennis Hinton, provided the inspiration for John and Carol to become foster parents to more than 25 children, whom they treated as family. They loved their foster children as their own. “These are human beings, not things discarded by the side of the road,” John said. “Thousands of kids are in foster care. We couldn’t adopt all of them, but we needed to help them—to provide caring in the midst of tragedy.” Fostering children, John believed, “makes you understand how God balances good out of bad.”

John and Carol bought property in Sedona in the 1980s. That’s when the Prescott area caught their fancy. They moved to Prescott Valley in 2004 after John retired. He and Carol recertified in foster care in Arizona, and continued to open their loving home to disadvantaged children. John also took Matforce Training to become a Life Coach.

John had a long-term interest in the Jewish faith, starting in 1967, with a visit to a Rabbi in Japan. He converted to Judaism in 2010 at Temple B’rith Shalom in Prescott. “The Torah is our manual for life,” John believed.

John fought a long, courageous battle with cancer. He never gave up his faith in the power of family love, and in his and Carol’s willingness to share family and love with everyone around them: children and adults. He counted as his most important accomplishments his dedication to duty and to excellence—in the service of his country, as a loving husband and father, as a foster parent to many, and a friend and counselor to all.

John was buried with military honors at Heritage Memorial Park Cemetery, Dewey. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Donations can be made in his memory to American Cancer Society or to Temple B’rith Shalom, Prescott.

Information provided by survivors.


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