You could count the things in John Vranizan's life that mattered most on one hand - family, faith, service, and sports.
John, 89, died on April 30, of complications from congestive heart failure, at home in SW Portland.
John was a true son of Portland, with roots dating back to the arrival of his paternal grandparents from Croatia and his maternal grandparents from the Midwest in the late 19th century. He was born in 1936 to Matthew and Catherine (Monpier) Vranizan, the youngest of their four sons. He attended Immaculate Heart and The Madeleine Catholic grade schools, and Central Catholic High School. He and Carole Zenner started dating as high school juniors and married in August 1957, the start of a loving partnership that lasted 68 years.
One of John's proudest accomplishments was playing on the Central Catholic football team that won Oregon state championships in 1952 and 1953. Later, he began running and completed several marathons, taught himself river rafting, took up tennis after joining the Multnomah Athletic Club in 1970, and played golf at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. He served on the MAC board and as president in 1992-93. His athletic pursuits came despite having heart valve replacement surgery in 1988 at the age of 52.
Being of service stemmed from his sense of duty and deep faith. He joined the ROTC in college and served for a total of eight years, most of it in the US Army Reserves. After he and Carole moved to SW Portland's Garden Home neighborhood in 1961, they joined St. John Fisher Catholic Church, which became the center of their family and source of many life-long friendships. John's faith-based service started as Chair of the Central Catholic Board, founding Sunday Bingo at St. Mary's Academy, and with Carole, the Jesuit High School auction.
John earned a mechanical engineering degree from Santa Clara University, and was a licensed professional engineer. He worked for Precision Castparts for a time, and spent most of his career in the forest products industry, including working at Moore Dry Kiln of Oregon as a sales rep and general manager. After management positions at Portland Iron Works and Coe Manufacturing, John started Carroll Hatch & Associates, the US arm of a Canadian-based consulting firm that he purchased and specialized in energy efficiency projects.
His work for the Bonneville Power Administration on variable speed controls for sawmill dry kiln fans became the industry standard and in 1987 earned him a US Energy Dept. award and (Oregon) Governor's Energy Award.
John was an early DIY guy and due to his seeming ability to repair almost anything, grandchildren nicknamed him "Grandpa Fix-It." He was an early PC guy, teaching himself MS-DOS to network computers and transfer files.
In John's life story he wrote "My greatest lifetime achievement is the creation of our family. We accomplished that creation with faith in our God."
John was predeceased by his parents; and brothers, Matt and Ed. He is survived by his wife, Carole; children, Michelle Rafter (Jay), Susan Menendez (Mitch), Teresa Schneider (Joe), Mary Jo Vranizan (Robert Davis), and John P. Vranizan (Michelle); 14 grandchildren, Kate, Luke, and Aaron Rafter; Jennie, Amy, and Lucy Menendez; Matthew Schneider (Catrin Bernroth), Patrick Schneider, Sarah Morrow (Carl); Maya and Molly Cohen; and Gus, Charlie, and Joe Vranizan; as well as five great-grandchildren, Theodor, Ludvig and Leopold Schneider, and Juliette and Emory Morrow.
Other survivors include John's brother, Ralph; and numerous nieces and nephews and their families, and cousins.
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