14 Dec 1937 – 18 Dec 2000
2nd-Great-Grandson of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Great-Grandson of Thomas Barthelemy Cardon and Lucy Smith
Grandson of Lucy Edna Cardon and James Ammon Langton
Son of Lucie Gayle Langton and Grant Macfarlane
John Morton Macfarlane, 63, passed away December 18, 2000, of a heart attack.
He was born in Salt Lake City on December 14, 1937, to Grant and Lucie Gayle Langton Macfarlane.
John attended Stewart School, Bryant Junior High, and Olympus High School. He graduated from the University of Utah where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
John is survived by sons, Toby (Christy), San Diego, CA; and Matt (Tara), Salt Lake; stepson, Brett (Susan) Palmer; former wives, Judy Taylor Macfarlane, Debra Stohl Macfarlane, Jeraldene (Rachel) Lovell; sister, Marilyn (Max) Halliday, San Diego, CA; brothers, Grant Jr. (Shirley), James L. (Carol), J. Richard (Karen), all of Salt Lake; grandchildren, Rio Annalise, Jack, Kassadee, Jakob, Allie, Samuel. John also was deeply loved by his nieces and nephews
His daughter, Alexis Christina and stepson, Alex, preceded him in death.
John was a unique and loveable human being, often with a flair for the theatrical. He had a soft spot for the downtrodden. He had a large heart and hearty laugh and a sharp sense of humor. Everywhere he went he attracted friends. John loved his family and had joy being with his grandchildren. A sportsman all his life, he particularly loved tennis and passed on his skill and enthusiasm to his sons. He also was a lifetime University of Utah sports fan and regularly attended football and basketball games.
John had a deep love for Hawaii and spent considerable time there in recent years. The Macfarlane Ranch in East Canyon was also a place John spent many happy and peaceful days enjoying the tranquility and beauty of this mountain home. He requested that his ashes be spread at the ranch as were the ashes of his daughter Alexis.
His sister Marilyn and brother-in-law Max were especially loving and close with John and included him in many Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other activities. The four Macfarlane brothers had yearly retreats to Southern Utah and regularly had lunch at Little America. The circle is broken with the death of our beloved John.
John was a bi-coastal publishing giant spanning John Wiley & Sons to Vonholtzspirnk Publishing. He kept America’s collegiates in good reading material.
John has been a longtime donor and volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Make-A-Wish fulfilled his daughter Alexis’ wish shortly before her death from leukemia over a decade ago. Since that time John has been a faithful friend to Make-A-Wish children. He recently helped publish a book with the mother of the first wish child, whose wish to be a State Trooper gave birth to the Make-A-Wish concept in 1980. Over the past several months John has been actively engaged in a search for land in Salt Lake to create a permanent home for Make-A-Wish of Utah. In lieu of flowers you may want to contribute to Make-A-Wish of Utah.
A memorial celebration was held at 1 p.m. Saturday, December 23, 2000, at Red Butte Garden in Research Park.