Obituary for John H. Givens

John Henry Givens passed away on Saturday, October 1st, 2022. He was born May 15th, 1942 on a farmhouse in Buchanan Country, Iowa to Charles Wallace Givens and Letha Ethel (Diehl) Givens. He was the oldest of five children, including his sisters Mona, Ruby, Dian, and Linda. Through high school he lived in small towns and farmed with his family. John enjoyed playing sports, and often worked at odd jobs on farms to earn spending money. He attended schools in Hazelton, Stanley, Fayette, and Oelwein, Iowa. He graduated from Oelwein High School in 1960. John’s interests included bowling, cars, golf, music, fishing, the Packers, the Brewers, the Milwaukee Bucks, coin collecting, pen collecting, and caring for his yard.

John started working at the F. W. Woolworth Co. store in Oelwein, Iowa in June 1960 and was transferred the Cedar Falls location as an Asst. Mgr. Trainee in 1962. In Jan 1963 he was transferred again to the Village Shopping Center store in La Crosse, Wis. as an Asst. Mgr. There he met his future wife, Marsha.

John was drafted in the army on March 2, 1964. He did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. In Aug. 1964 John volunteered for the Airborne and did his Paratrooper training at Ft. Benning, Ga. In Sept. 1964, John was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Hdqts. & Hdqts. Co. At Fort Bragg, NC where he worked at the 82nd Airborne Division Museum.

Mid May 1965 thru Mid Aug 1965, John spent three months on the island of the Dominican Republic as a jeep driver for the top officers there. He volunteered and arrived there one week after the main forces and the combat was over. He had bullets flying over his head once in an intersection in downtown Santo Domingo, but was not hit.

He made 14 jumps while in the Airborne from a variety of aircraft including the C130, C124, C141, and one from a Huey helicopter into a sugar cane field while in the Dominican Republic. John was discharged on Mar 1, 1966, with an Honorable Discharge, a Good Conduct Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with a rank of Spec. 4.

When John got out of the Army, he returned to La Crosse and began work at Trane Co. where he worked for over 9 years at various positions including night guardsman, materials planner, and cost estimator. July 1966 thru June 1968, John was in the Active Army Reserves in Onalaska, WI. He was promoted to Corporal, and later promoted to Spec. 5, Squad Leader. From Sept 1966 thru May 1976 he attended part time night school at WWTC in La Crosse, earning 85 credits in finance and accounting.

John and Marsha Lynn DeClute/Wasmuth got married on May 21, 1966, at Asbury United Methodist Church in La Crosse, and purchased a new house on La Crosse’s south side. They had three children: son, Jeffrey, daughters, Kelly and Jacqueline.

In November of 1978 John went to work for his father-in-law, Roy Wasmuth, at South Lanes as the Assistant Manager. John and Marsha purchased South Lanes from Roy and wife Janice in September of 1982. They loved all of their employees, bowlers, and patrons and truly enjoyed being a part of the La Crosse community.

John served on the Board of Directors for the Bowling Proprietors Association of Wisconsin from 1984 to 1999, as the Vice President of the BPAW Dist. 5 from 1991 to 1992. John was elected president of the La Crosse Bowling Council and served Sept 1999 through Aug 2001. John and Marsha purchased South Lanes Pizza on June 15, 2010 from Ron Parent who had owned the business and rented the kitchen and dining area for 25 years.

John’s youngest daughter Jackie Topel and her husband Dave took over management of South Lanes on Jan 1st., 2012, purchasing a portion of the business. John went into semi-Retirement at that time, working part time and helping with the bookkeeping. He eventually retired fully. During the early years of his retirement he was active in the 82nd Airborne Division Assoc. Badger State Chapter where he was elected Secretary and Vice-Chairman and was its newsletter editor.

John was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and suffered a long, slow decline in which his memory faded and he relied on family to help and eventually care for him. During his declining years he enjoyed helping around the house and caring for his pristine lawn. His wife, Marsha passed away from Lung Cancer on March 29th, 2020. John was cared for at his home by family until late February of 2022 when he began to need professional care. John passed away on Oct. 1st, 2022.

He is survived by children Jeff Givens, Kelly Wrobel (Vincent), Jackie Topel (David), sisters Mona Arthur, Dian Greeno (Don), Ruby Campbell, Linda Ranck (Phil), sister-in-law Patty Pavek (Ronald), ten grandchildren; Connor Givens, Solstice Givens, Lauren Lockington, Taylor Topel, Keaton Topel, Kalob Topel, Carter Roloff, Jacob Fry, Andrew Storey, Robyn (Kurtis) Blankenship, four great grandchildren Andrew Storey Jr, Rylee and Rowyn Blankenship, and Gianna James Larson, and many nieces and nephews.

He was proceeded in death by his wife, Marsha Givens, parents Charles and Letha Givens, in-laws Janice and Roy Wasmuth, brothers-in law Mick Campbell, Jim Arthur, and Richard Wasmuth.

Visitation for both John and his wife Marsha will be held together at Jandt-Fredrickson Funeral Homes and Crematory-Woodruff Chapel, La Crosse on Sunday, October 16th at 11:00 a.m., with services at Noon. A reception will follow at 1:30 p.m. at All Star Lanes Banquet Hall in La Crosse. Private burial will occur at a later date. Please visit the funeral home’s website at www.jandtfredrickson.com to offer the family online condolences.