MUSTONEN, John W.

Today's News-Herald, Lake Havasu City, Arizona Published Tuesday, June 19, 2010 July 16, 1924 - April 25, 2010 John W. Mustonen, 85, of Lake Havasu City, passed into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ on the moring of April 25, 2010, after a battle with complications of dementia. Known to friends as "Railroad John", he was a long-time member of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, VFW Post 9401, and Elks Lodge 2399. John was born in Seattle to John and Gladys Mustonen. Due to complications, he was a rare Caesarean birth, a true miracle baby for that era. As an only child, John grew up in small railroad towns across the southwest, including Needles, Topock, Rice, and Amboy, Calif. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, John volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He served the Pacific theater as a radio operator, flying the China-Burma-India "hump where he received numerous combat ribbons. After re-enlisting during the Korean War, John met his future wife Margaret, a college graduate student, in Honolulu, Hawaii. They married in 1953, settling in Whittier, Calif. where they raised two daughters In 1986, John retired from the Norfolk Southern Railroad after 34 years of service. He and Margaret moved to Lake Havasu City in 1988 to be near Margaret's sister and brother-in-law, Helen and Henry Organek. John was preceded in death by his beloved wife Margaret, who passed away in 2002. He is survied by his daughter and son-in-law, Carol and William Hoose; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Douglas DeMoss; and two grandchildren, Fiona and Alexander DeMoss. John will be sadly missed by all that knew him. A military honor guard ceremony will be held at 8a.m. June 26 at Mount Olive Lutheran Church with an inurnment memorial service immediately following.