John Mesner was born in Saginaw, Michigan in February 4, 1928. He grew up in 301 Meacham ave, Park Ridge, Cook County, Illinois. John received his HS Diploma from Maine Township High School in 1945. John joined the Army in 1945 at the age of 17. He served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations with the 511th, Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division as a rifleman. He received the World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Ribbon (Japan). He was honorably discharged from the Army after breaking his arm in a bad paratrooper landing during the occupation of Japan in 1947.
After completing his military service he used his GI Bill and enrolled at the University of Chicago where he persevered and worked his way through, doing odd jobs, to finally earn a Bachelors degree in Geology in 1955. After college he and a colleague had an opportunity to do a geological survey in northern Brazil. He and L.C.P. Wooldridge wrote an impressive journal called "Maranhao Paleozoic Basin and Cretaceous Coastal Basins, North Brazil" available at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Website. He then chose to stay in Brazil to work for the Brazilian Petroleum Company "Petrobras" to help the company find petroleum, where he worked for a few years. His thesis work in Brazil earned him a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Around that time he met a man called Robert, they both went into partnership in the Seafood Exporting Industry. He worked very hard and helped develop the business into a major Seafood Export Company headquartered in Fortaleza, Brazil. At its pinnacle the company consisted of around 50 steel hull Lobster, Shrimp, and Snapper Boats, a seafood processing, packaging, and refrigerating facility, a boat maintenance facility, and an export and import office building. John was known to have and to want a personal relationship with all his employees from the fishermen to the welder to the accountants and all the way to the management. He always looked and admired people for their best qualities and talents.
He got married to Raimunda in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1966. They had 3 children together, Gardner, Grant, and Gavin. In 1968, while visiting the US with baby Gardner, they got married again in Central Florida. John and Raimunda Mesner dissolved their marriage in Brazil around 1972.
Around that time John took up the sport of sailing, class Hobie Cat 14 when he was in his mid 40s and became very good at it. He earned dozens of trophies. His most noticeable achievements were 4th place in the National Brazilian Championship in 1976, and 65th place in the Canary Islands World Championship in 1977, where prior he took 16th place in the qualifying race. He was an active man, a daily jogger and had a deep passion for tennis.
In 1978 John fathered a baby girl with another woman. He loved This girl very much. He always made an effort to provide the best for her and his 3 sons. He taught them that hard work and embracing life's challenges would instill character in a person. He taught them to always be polite to others and to work hard for what they desired in life. He taught them that they can choose to be anything they want in life as long as they were happy doing it which he believed translated to being really good at something. The 4 children always spent every Saturday with him at his house, and went out to dinner every Sunday evening. After dinner he would always drive the children around the city of Fortaleza while he played classical music in the background and smoked his pipe exchanging conversations with the children before he dropped them off at their homes. It was their beloved ritual.
John died at the age of 57 in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1985. He was laid to rest in Cemiterio Parque da Paz. John was a very hard working man and a great loving father to all his 4 children. He loved his mother Julia very deeply. He spoke very fondly of his grandfather Richard Hampton Vose. After his death, John's housekeeper and gardener, Joana and Chico, claimed he helped them financially with the construction costs of their homes and that he financed the construction of their community church with nothing ever asked in return. John is missed and is survived by his 4 children.
After completing his military service he used his GI Bill and enrolled at the University of Chicago where he persevered and worked his way through, doing odd jobs, to finally earn a Bachelors degree in Geology in 1955. After college he and a colleague had an opportunity to do a geological survey in northern Brazil. He and L.C.P. Wooldridge wrote an impressive journal called "Maranhao Paleozoic Basin and Cretaceous Coastal Basins, North Brazil" available at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Website. He then chose to stay in Brazil to work for the Brazilian Petroleum Company "Petrobras" to help the company find petroleum, where he worked for a few years. His thesis work in Brazil earned him a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Around that time he met a man called Robert, they both went into partnership in the Seafood Exporting Industry. He worked very hard and helped develop the business into a major Seafood Export Company headquartered in Fortaleza, Brazil. At its pinnacle the company consisted of around 50 steel hull Lobster, Shrimp, and Snapper Boats, a seafood processing, packaging, and refrigerating facility, a boat maintenance facility, and an export and import office building. John was known to have and to want a personal relationship with all his employees from the fishermen to the welder to the accountants and all the way to the management. He always looked and admired people for their best qualities and talents.
He got married to Raimunda in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1966. They had 3 children together, Gardner, Grant, and Gavin. In 1968, while visiting the US with baby Gardner, they got married again in Central Florida. John and Raimunda Mesner dissolved their marriage in Brazil around 1972.
Around that time John took up the sport of sailing, class Hobie Cat 14 when he was in his mid 40s and became very good at it. He earned dozens of trophies. His most noticeable achievements were 4th place in the National Brazilian Championship in 1976, and 65th place in the Canary Islands World Championship in 1977, where prior he took 16th place in the qualifying race. He was an active man, a daily jogger and had a deep passion for tennis.
In 1978 John fathered a baby girl with another woman. He loved This girl very much. He always made an effort to provide the best for her and his 3 sons. He taught them that hard work and embracing life's challenges would instill character in a person. He taught them to always be polite to others and to work hard for what they desired in life. He taught them that they can choose to be anything they want in life as long as they were happy doing it which he believed translated to being really good at something. The 4 children always spent every Saturday with him at his house, and went out to dinner every Sunday evening. After dinner he would always drive the children around the city of Fortaleza while he played classical music in the background and smoked his pipe exchanging conversations with the children before he dropped them off at their homes. It was their beloved ritual.
John died at the age of 57 in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1985. He was laid to rest in Cemiterio Parque da Paz. John was a very hard working man and a great loving father to all his 4 children. He loved his mother Julia very deeply. He spoke very fondly of his grandfather Richard Hampton Vose. After his death, John's housekeeper and gardener, Joana and Chico, claimed he helped them financially with the construction costs of their homes and that he financed the construction of their community church with nothing ever asked in return. John is missed and is survived by his 4 children.
John Mesner was born in Saginaw, Michigan in February 4, 1928. He grew up in 301 Meacham ave, Park Ridge, Cook County, Illinois. John received his HS Diploma from Maine Township High School in 1945. John joined the Army in 1945 at the age of 17. He served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations with the 511th, Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division as a rifleman. He received the World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Ribbon (Japan). He was honorably discharged from the Army after breaking his arm in a bad paratrooper landing during the occupation of Japan in 1947.
After completing his military service he used his GI Bill and enrolled at the University of Chicago where he persevered and worked his way through, doing odd jobs, to finally earn a Bachelors degree in Geology in 1955. After college he and a colleague had an opportunity to do a geological survey in northern Brazil. He and L.C.P. Wooldridge wrote an impressive journal called "Maranhao Paleozoic Basin and Cretaceous Coastal Basins, North Brazil" available at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Website. He then chose to stay in Brazil to work for the Brazilian Petroleum Company "Petrobras" to help the company find petroleum, where he worked for a few years. His thesis work in Brazil earned him a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Around that time he met a man called Robert, they both went into partnership in the Seafood Exporting Industry. He worked very hard and helped develop the business into a major Seafood Export Company headquartered in Fortaleza, Brazil. At its pinnacle the company consisted of around 50 steel hull Lobster, Shrimp, and Snapper Boats, a seafood processing, packaging, and refrigerating facility, a boat maintenance facility, and an export and import office building. John was known to have and to want a personal relationship with all his employees from the fishermen to the welder to the accountants and all the way to the management. He always looked and admired people for their best qualities and talents.
He got married to Raimunda in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1966. They had 3 children together, Gardner, Grant, and Gavin. In 1968, while visiting the US with baby Gardner, they got married again in Central Florida. John and Raimunda Mesner dissolved their marriage in Brazil around 1972.
Around that time John took up the sport of sailing, class Hobie Cat 14 when he was in his mid 40s and became very good at it. He earned dozens of trophies. His most noticeable achievements were 4th place in the National Brazilian Championship in 1976, and 65th place in the Canary Islands World Championship in 1977, where prior he took 16th place in the qualifying race. He was an active man, a daily jogger and had a deep passion for tennis.
In 1978 John fathered a baby girl with another woman. He loved This girl very much. He always made an effort to provide the best for her and his 3 sons. He taught them that hard work and embracing life's challenges would instill character in a person. He taught them to always be polite to others and to work hard for what they desired in life. He taught them that they can choose to be anything they want in life as long as they were happy doing it which he believed translated to being really good at something. The 4 children always spent every Saturday with him at his house, and went out to dinner every Sunday evening. After dinner he would always drive the children around the city of Fortaleza while he played classical music in the background and smoked his pipe exchanging conversations with the children before he dropped them off at their homes. It was their beloved ritual.
John died at the age of 57 in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1985. He was laid to rest in Cemiterio Parque da Paz. John was a very hard working man and a great loving father to all his 4 children. He loved his mother Julia very deeply. He spoke very fondly of his grandfather Richard Hampton Vose. After his death, John's housekeeper and gardener, Joana and Chico, claimed he helped them financially with the construction costs of their homes and that he financed the construction of their community church with nothing ever asked in return. John is missed and is survived by his 4 children.
After completing his military service he used his GI Bill and enrolled at the University of Chicago where he persevered and worked his way through, doing odd jobs, to finally earn a Bachelors degree in Geology in 1955. After college he and a colleague had an opportunity to do a geological survey in northern Brazil. He and L.C.P. Wooldridge wrote an impressive journal called "Maranhao Paleozoic Basin and Cretaceous Coastal Basins, North Brazil" available at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Website. He then chose to stay in Brazil to work for the Brazilian Petroleum Company "Petrobras" to help the company find petroleum, where he worked for a few years. His thesis work in Brazil earned him a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Around that time he met a man called Robert, they both went into partnership in the Seafood Exporting Industry. He worked very hard and helped develop the business into a major Seafood Export Company headquartered in Fortaleza, Brazil. At its pinnacle the company consisted of around 50 steel hull Lobster, Shrimp, and Snapper Boats, a seafood processing, packaging, and refrigerating facility, a boat maintenance facility, and an export and import office building. John was known to have and to want a personal relationship with all his employees from the fishermen to the welder to the accountants and all the way to the management. He always looked and admired people for their best qualities and talents.
He got married to Raimunda in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1966. They had 3 children together, Gardner, Grant, and Gavin. In 1968, while visiting the US with baby Gardner, they got married again in Central Florida. John and Raimunda Mesner dissolved their marriage in Brazil around 1972.
Around that time John took up the sport of sailing, class Hobie Cat 14 when he was in his mid 40s and became very good at it. He earned dozens of trophies. His most noticeable achievements were 4th place in the National Brazilian Championship in 1976, and 65th place in the Canary Islands World Championship in 1977, where prior he took 16th place in the qualifying race. He was an active man, a daily jogger and had a deep passion for tennis.
In 1978 John fathered a baby girl with another woman. He loved This girl very much. He always made an effort to provide the best for her and his 3 sons. He taught them that hard work and embracing life's challenges would instill character in a person. He taught them to always be polite to others and to work hard for what they desired in life. He taught them that they can choose to be anything they want in life as long as they were happy doing it which he believed translated to being really good at something. The 4 children always spent every Saturday with him at his house, and went out to dinner every Sunday evening. After dinner he would always drive the children around the city of Fortaleza while he played classical music in the background and smoked his pipe exchanging conversations with the children before he dropped them off at their homes. It was their beloved ritual.
John died at the age of 57 in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1985. He was laid to rest in Cemiterio Parque da Paz. John was a very hard working man and a great loving father to all his 4 children. He loved his mother Julia very deeply. He spoke very fondly of his grandfather Richard Hampton Vose. After his death, John's housekeeper and gardener, Joana and Chico, claimed he helped them financially with the construction costs of their homes and that he financed the construction of their community church with nothing ever asked in return. John is missed and is survived by his 4 children.
