In Memoriam ~  John Alfred Schlumpberger ’52 

John Alfred Schlumpberger passed away on Feb. 13, 2019.

John was born Feb. 22, 1934, to Leander Schlumpberger and Lucy (Mueller) Schlumpberger in New Ulm. He attended grade schools in Minneapolis; St. John’s Prep School and St. John’s University in Collegeville.

After college graduation, John went to Officer Candidate School followed by Under Water Swimmer’s School and training in Explosive Ordinance Disposal in Indianhead, Md. He served his Navy years in Key West, Fla.

Once out of the service John worked for General Mills and Honeywell in Minneapolis. He joined IBM working on the Apollo moon project at the Godard Space Center in Huntsville, Ala. A return to Florida, he worked a project with IBM – the computerization of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. John had an opportunity with IBM that sent him to Silicon Valley in California. He remained there until his retirement when he returned to his beloved Minnesota living in Little Falls and Rochester.

No matter where John lived he celebrated the outdoors enjoying many recreational activities. To mention a few – scuba diving, spearfishing, bicycling, skiing, backpacking, canoeing, jogging, ice hockey, tennis – all of which he shared with family and friends. For four summers, John lived outdoors while volunteering for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana, hiking many trails in the Rocky Mountains. John also enjoyed working in his vegetable garden, cooking and even wrote a cookbook, “The John Bear Kitchen.” Woodworking was another hobby he mastered – building bird houses, end tables and wine racks.

As John’s health started to fail, he moved once again to live closer to his good friend and former wife, Marilyn Steen in Liberty Lake, Wash.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Leander and Lucy; infant son, Leo Schlumpberger; and sister, Mary E. Forte. John leaves behind his children, Jay M. Schlumpberger, Taipei, Taiwan, Joy M. Apple, Davis, Calif., and Jill M. Schlumpberger, Seattle; former wife, Shirley J. McKelvey; stepdaughters, Jackie Scardino and Becky Monday; brother-in-law, Don; sons-in-law, Steven and Tom; daughter-in-law, Ruey Wu; three grandchildren, James, Jeremy, and Jessica; one great-grandchild, Lily; and nieces and nephew.

Burial is at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.