John is a native of Longmont. He graduated from Longmont High School in 1963 and attended Stanford University, graduating with a BA degree in 1967. At Stanford he was on the basketball and track teams. He helped register voters in Mississippi in the fall of 1963. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was Rush Chairman in 1966, when the local chapter pledged the first black member in that fraternity’s history. He participated in the Stanford in Italy program his senior year.
John went to the University of Colorado Law School, graduating with a JD degree in 1970. He was a member of the Law Students Civil Rights Counsel and spent the summer of 1968 interning with the civil rights law firm of Hill, Tucker, and Marsh in Richmond, VA researching and drafting briefs on civil rights cases in the Federal courts.
In 1970, John began law practice with this law firm, which his great grandfather helped found in 1871. His great uncle and father also were members of this firm. His practice continues to focus on Estate and Trust Planning and Administration, Real Estate law, including water, oil and gas, and development, Business law, and Taxation as it applies to these areas of law.
John has been a peer-review AV rated attorney for over 45 years.
John is married to Laurie. Together they have five children and fourteen grandchildren. His hobbies are hiking, golf, skiing, studying history, theology, and world travel.
John attends Lifebridge Christian Church. He is active in the Longmont Rotary Club, serving as its Editarian and on many committees through the years. He served as Chairman of the Longmont Rotary Charity Fund from 1996 to 2002.
John was Chairman of the Longmont United Hospital Foundation from 1999 until 2019 and a member of the Board since 1993. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Longmont United Hospital from 1979 to 1988, serving as President from 1982 to 1988.
John was a member of the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Longmont (later First Main Street Bank, then Centennial Bank and Trust, finally Guaranty Bank and Trust) from 1994 to 2009. He served as Chairman from 1998 to 2008.
John has served on the Boards of Directors of the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce, the Longmont Red Cross, the First Congregational Church, the Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Longmont, St. John’s School, and the Longmont YMCA, among others.
John has coached basketball for many years. He accumulated over 1000 wins serving as head coach of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades competitive league teams for the Longmont Lightning Club (girls) and the Longmont Youth Boys Basketball Club from 1993 through the present. He was the head coach of the Longmont High School girl’s basketball team for the 2000—2001 school year.
John has served as Chairman of the Lynn & Helen Clark Fund and the Ray Lanyon Fund – both local general charity funds. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame and Adopt Colorado Kids, Inc. (both Colorado non-profit corporations).
Recently John has received several honors: (i) in 2007 as a “Super Conductor” by the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, (ii) in 2008 as the winner of the “Longmont Distinguished Citizen” award by the Longs Peak Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America, (iii) in 2009 as the winner of the “Professional of the Year” award by the Longmont Community Foundation. (iv) John served as the Chair of the Longmont Distinguished Citizen Award for the Boy Scouts for the 2010 dinner, and (v) in 2011 John was inducted into the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame.