John Lee Gawf
Marriages
Mary Elizabeth Laflin - 1950
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B - August 27, 2010
J.Lee Gawf, self-made man,
loving husband, devoted father
and grandfather, passed away at
his home on August 17, 2010, at
the age of 88, surrounded by his
family.
Born in Salida, Colorado in
1922, J Lee overcame a childhood
made particularly difficult
by the absence of his father. He
and his three younger siblings were raised by his mother, Helen
Gertrude Bondurant, who prevailed against enormous obstacles to
acquire teaching credentials and obtained employment at the local
elementary school. Later the family moved to Grand Junction, Colorado,
where J attended Grand Junction High School, class of 1940.
His big break came when he was selected by his state senator for
an appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD., from
which he graduated with the class of 1946. On a post-war tour
around South America on the USS Little Rock, he met his future
wife, Mary Elizabeth Laflin, in Peru.
He served in the Navy and in the reserves, achieving the rank of
Lieutenant Commander. After leaving the Navy, he worked briefly
as an electrical engineer for Bechtel in San Francisco, where he
continued his courtship of Elizabeth, who was by then attending
Lone Mountain University. They married in 1950.
In 1954 he was accepted into the Foreign Service and moved with
his wife and two children to his first post, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Taking his growing family with him, he went on from Mexico to
serve in Genoa, Italy; Caracas, Venezuela; Ottawa, Canada; Washington,
DC; Naples, Italy; Belize City, British Honduras; and Rome,
Italy. In Belize he headed the American Consulate as Consul General,
and in Rome, Italy, his last overseas post, he attained the rank
of Minister Counselor for Political Affairs. While in Rome he was
awarded the medal of Meritorious Honor for his involvement with
US emergency relief services to his beloved former post, Naples,
following the 1980 earthquake. He retired in 1988, and moved with
his wife to Portland, Oregon.
His dedication to his career was surpassed only by his commitment
to his family. He read his kids bedtime stories, taught them
soccer, helped them with homework, took them camping, skiing, ice
skating, and fishing, played music to them and taught them songs,
provided lessons in swimming and music, sent them to good schools
and raised them to be multi-lingual and multi-cultural. In short, he
did everything he could to fulfill his childhood promise to one day
be an excellent husband and father.
Thank you Pop, for everything you gave us, especially your irrepressible
sense of humor.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Laflin Gawf, and
his six children, Mary Anne Lara, Kate Gawf, Matilda Gawf, Tony
Gawf, Margo Alexander, and John Alan Gawf; and five grandchildren,
Marbella Lara, José Lara, Rosalba Lara, Margaret Karshner,
and Katie Karshner.
A memorial service will be held at Zeller's Chapel of the Roses at
11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 27, after which he will be buried at
Riverview Cemetery. Remembrances in his name can be made to the
Alzheimer's Association, 1650 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 190, Portland,
Oregon, 97209.
