Last Sunday, after a long illness, the Lord called John home to be with Him. John passed away on January 19th at Josephine Caring Community in Stanwood

John was born in Stanwood on May 22, 1932 to Ole Bernard and Bertha Gedstad and joined his brother, Alex. He attended all 12 years of school there. Upon graduation, he went to Mt. Vernon Junior College. At age 14 John went to work at the Sather Poultry Farm and worked there until he joined the army in 1952. John served for three years in the US Army, primarily in Korea. After coming home he returned to work at Sather's for a short time. In 1956, he went to work for Boeing. They sent him to school, while he got his engineering degree in electronics. He worked for Boeing for 37 years, retiring in 1935.

On August 7, 1952 John married his childhood sweetheart, Maudie. In July of 1960, John and Maudie were joined by their son, Steven, and in February 1962, Susan, their daughter, joined them. Now the family was complete. At this time they lived in the Renton-Kennydale area.

Through all the years their dream was to move to Big Rock on the Pilchuck Creek at Bryant. They would go camping there with family and friends. In June of 1997 their dream came true. They built their home on the Big Rock. They joined Peace Lutheran Church where they were quite active: serving on the council, doing repairs, helping in the kitchen, pouring coffee at funerals and bazaars, Faith and Care and Men's Breakfasts. John was also a member of the Sons of Norway and the American Legion.

John was a putzer. If something was broken and he couldn't fix it—just throw it away. He was a "man of all trades". He and Maudie enjoyed traveling also. They went to Canada, meeting old and new cousins, the east coast, California and Europe several times.

John is survived by his wife, Maudie, his children Steve (Kim) Gedstad and Sue (Joseph) Passalacqua, his grandchildren Josh Passalacqua, Luke Passalacqua, Andrew (A.J.) Passalacqua, Katlin Gedstad and Tyler Gedstad, as well as many extended adopted family and friends that filled his heart with joy.

Memorial services for John will be on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 1pm at Peace Lutheran Church in Silvana, WA 1717 Ole Larson Rd, Silvana, WA 98287. Donations can be made to Peace Lutheran Church or Josephine Caring Community 9901 272nd Pl NW, Stanwood, WA 98292.