John McPherson Longfellow, 92, died Tuesday at the Reston Hospital Center in Reston, Virginia. John and his wife Luella lived in Thief River Falls for 30 years, until 2005 when he moved to Virginia to live with his daughter and her family.

Funeral service will be 10:30 AM, Saturday, May 12, 2007 at Johnson Funeral Service, Thief River Falls, MN with Reverend John Voelker officiating. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery, Thief River Falls, MN.
Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral service.

John Longfellow was born October 13, 1914 in Park River, North Dakota, the son of Harry Bertram Longfellow and Elizabeth Ann McPherson. He attended school in Park River before moving to Grand Forks, North Dakota as a young man. In East Grand Forks, October 1940, John married Luella Cameron. They moved to Chicago where John attended Northwestern University, receiving a PhD in chemistry. He worked as a research chemist at Colgate Palmolive Company and became director of research at American Cyanamid in New Jersey. At this time he lived in East Orange, Madison and Wayne (Pines Lake), New Jersey.

During his years in New Jersey, John enjoyed bowling, family camping, and stamp collecting. On retirement he and Luella returned to prairie life; where he enjoyed Cameron family get-togethers and fishing with his brother-in-law, Stanley Cameron. As a Thief River resident, he participated in the Lions Club and lived for several years at the Summerfield apartments. John was an avid reader and a lifelong learner.

John is survived by his daughter, Luella Rae Benedetto of Great Falls, Virgina; two grandchildren, Charlotte and John Benedetto, two great-grandchildren, a niece and a nephew. He is preceded in death by his wife Luella (d, October 10, 2000) and his sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Longfellow.