John W. Tedder

John Wayne Tedder died on Saturday, March 1, 2025, while doing what he loved best, flying his RV-7 airplane. He was 78 years old. John was born on August 30, 1946, in Pampa, Texas. Shortly after his birth, they moved to Weatherford, Oklahoma, where he grew up.

John joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of seventeen and completed boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. He got extra attention from the DI because of his name, “John Wayne.” He was eventually shipped to Da Nang, Vietnam, serving with the Ninth Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division. After his service in Vietnam, Corporal John Tedder returned to the United States and was stationed in Washington, D.C. Among his duties while stationed in D.C., he pulled colors at the Iwo Jima Memorial, stood guard in the Pentagon, and served in the Marine Armed Forces Police.

After completing his service in the Marine Corps, John returned to Weatherford to attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he graduated with a BA Degree in Business.

John spent nearly fifty years of his career as a Water Control Valve Specialist, where he worked on virtually every water system in Colorado and Wyoming. During the majority of this time he worked for Cla-Val Company. Cla-Val eventually made John a rep and helped him establish his own company, Rocky Mountain Valve. After selling his company, John went to work at Pipestone Equipment, where he was still employed at the time of his death.

John always loved teaching and training people in the waterworks industry. He was never too busy to help a customer and liked the challenge of solving a problem. He was a member of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Water Works Association and served on the Action Now Committee. The Committee conducts monthly seminars throughout Colorado for teaching and training, and he seldom missed a seminar. John was still active in the Association at the time of his death.

John was an adventurer at heart. He was a Tulsa auxiliary policeman and in the Denver Police Reserve. He had many stories about his policing experiences and had a lot of fun telling them. He loved traveling with his wife, Lamoine. His favorite places to visit were ocean locations where they went scuba diving (John much more than Lamoine!) and snorkeling. And he was a good sport about visiting museums with Lamoine while in Europe. He also loved skydiving, skiing, camping, backpacking, golf, and most of all flying. He would frequently fly to Greeley for breakfast with his airplane buddies, and every fall he flew his plane or drove to Mesquite, Nevada, for a golf tournament.

John was a member of the International Aerobatic Club and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Each year he flew to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the annual EAA air show. He built his own plane, and his biggest adventure was flying it to Alaska in June 2024 for a three-week trip, including making it to the Arctic Circle and seeing Denali on a clear day.

John loved joking around and was an avid storyteller. It did not matter how many times he told a story he would tell it again. He would say, “If you have heard this story raise your hand.” Even if every person raised their hand, he would tell it again anyway. He was friendly and outgoing, and engaged with everyone he met. He had a large personality and filled the room with his presence. He loved life and lived it to the fullest.

John is survived by his wife Lamoine Tedder; his sons James Tedder (Annie); Ben Tedder (Kristen); daughter Sue Herndon; stepson Mark Weger (Sandra); his two sisters Danielle Arnett and Debra Henson; his grandchildren Rachel (Jason), Adam (Amanda), Selene, Ariana, Anders, Hailey and Aiden; great-grandchildren Charlotte and Asher; and extended family Brian and Toni Pugh.

John was preceded in death by his sister Dineen Hamm and brother Tom Tedder.

He was loved by many and will be missed by all.

John will have a military service at Fort Logan National Cemetery (Staging Area C) on Thursday, March 20th, at 11:00 a.m. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early. (Check their website for details. His legal name is Johnny Tedder, and that is what you should use on that site.) Due to construction, please enter through the address 4440 W. Kenyon Ave. Denver, CO 80235. 

Following the service there will be a 12:00 p.m. reception at the Lone Tree Golf Club and Hotel, 9808 Sunningdale Boulevard, Lone Tree, CO 80124.