John Francis Markley

John Francis Markley (1925-2023)

John grew up in Ilion, New York and attended Ilion High School. He trained as an aircraft mechanic and credited his Aunt Ruth and Uncle Abel with making his education possible, living with them during his training. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 as an aircraft mechanic. After discharge in 1946, he married Margaret (Peggy) Jeanne Palmatier. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, earning a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree in 1950. After graduation, they moved to Saddle Brook, New Jersey, where they raised three children. His son (Douglas Markley) and daughters (Bonnie Baty and Kathleen Oprandy) remember them as a gregarious couple who enjoyed gatherings with family and friends, singing (he was the crooner), and vacationing and visiting family in upstate New York. John especially enjoyed playing guitar, flying light airplanes, and motoring in his Austin Healy. John worked at several companies as an industrial engineer. He entered retirement with great enthusiasm, especially for improving their golf games, even after his 2^nd hole-in-one. Peggy and John lived in the Homestead in Columbus, NJ for more than 25 years and wintered in Punta Gorda, FL. After more than 70 years of marriage, following Peggy’s death in 2017, John moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He loved visits (real and virtual!) from his three children, four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, sister, niece, and their families. He lived at Brookdale Senior Living, near his granddaughter and her family, who were a key factor in helping him stay in his independent apartment with his cat Molly. He felt privileged to live a long life, in good health until his last month, when he was well cared for at the VA Hospital.