John Jaranson Thief River Falls, MN, age 95, died on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at The Fountains At Hosanna in Lakeville, MN. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 26 2013 at Zion Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls, MN with Rev. John Golv officiating. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery. Military honors will be provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2793 and the American Legion Post #117. Visitation will be held from 5-8PM with a 7:00pm prayer service on Friday, January 25, 2013 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service at the church. John Edward Jaranson was born on July 14, 1917 in Thief River Falls, MN the son John G. and Alma (Johnson) Jaranson. He was baptized into the Lutheran faith. John attended school in Thief River Falls and graduated from Lincoln High School in the class of 1935. John spent his 95 1/2 years in Thief River Falls except for WWII in the Army Air Force as the engineer/top turret gunner in the B17 bomber Elaine, flying 50 missions over North Africa. His life growing up in Thief River and his years in military service are documented in a series of four articles published by the Pennington County Historical Society newsletter in 2007 and 2008 (pvillage.org). He married Sylvia Evenson in 1946 and they celebrated 63 years prior to Sylvia's death in 2010 at age 90. They raised their family and continued living in their home until 2007, when they moved to Valley Home. John worked as the credit manager/vice president of Hartz Wholesale grocery 44 years, retiring at age 65. In retirement he continued to enjoy his outdoor activities as long as he could: camping and golfing in the summer, hunting in the fall, snowmobiling in the winter, and fishing in the spring. John had a wry sense of humor and entertained family and friends with his many stories. He was a life member of the Elks Club and American Legion. Preceded by his wife Sylvia, brother Abby formerly of Bemidji, parents John G. and Alma Jaranson, and far too many friends. Survived by his son Jim of San Diego, daughter Sue (Dean Hoffman) of Burnsville, granddaughter Kim Hoffman of Milwaukee and grandson Josh Hoffman, currently in New Dehli, India., sister-in-law Jeanette Sather of Eau Claire, special niece Cindy Jaranson of Anchorage/Phoenix and ten other nieces and nephews. Memorials should be sent to the PCHS in memory of John E Jaranson. Condolences may be made at www.johnsonfuneralservice.com Accompanist, Phyllis Dalager Soloist, Diane Johnson "Amazing Grace" & "Day By Day" Congregational Hymns, "Beautiful Savior" & "How Great Thou Art" Pallbearers, John's family members