John Delfs

John J. Delfs, 75, died September 11, 2008 at his Long Beach residence. A native of New York City, John was born November 22, 1932, the son of Arnod and Nellie (Benson) Delfs. John's early years were in New York and nearby New Jersey. In 1951, when he was 19, John began service in the United States Air Force. He served during both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts as an administrative supervisor and air freight specialist and was stationed in Germany, Japan, Guam and Vietnam and was an E6 technical sergeant upon discharge in 1971. John settled in Tacoma where he worked as an journeyman moulder and coremaker at Atlas Foundry before becoming a US Army civil service worker at Fort Lewis, retiring in 1994. In 1994 John moved to Long Beach where he resided for several years. He lived briefly in Sequim, Washington before returning permanently to Long Beach in 1997. John dearly loved the peace and quiet of the Peninsula and was a regular at Long Beach Tavern where he enjoyed many friendships. He enjoyed camping and fishing, trips to Reno, country/western music and was very much his own person. John is survived by step-son Richard Kim and his wife Vickie of Puyallup, WA and sister Edith Storey of Steger, Illinois. Funeral service will be Saturday, September 20, 2008, 2:00 PM at Penttila's Chapel by The Sea, Long Beach. A reception follows at the chapel. Private burial next to his late wife Betty will be at Mountain View Cemetery, Tacoma. The guestbook is available at www.penttilaschapel.com.