John R. Gautreau (son of Edmond) 

John Robert Gautreau was born on November 22, 1958, in Lynn, Massachusetts to Edmond and Jean (Murphy) Gautreau.  He moved with his family to McAllen, Texas when he was 14 and to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was 20.  John married Adriana Chaves-Bautusta and they had one son: John Andrew. 

As a teen, John enjoyed playing the guitar, coin collecting, water skiing and honing his “pinball wizard” skills.  He also had a great interest in the history of WWII.  John read as many WWII books as he could get his hands on and had quite the collection of WWII aircraft models – which he painstakingly made by hand using balsa wood, paper and paint.  John was the one to ask if you wanted to identify a B-29 plane from a P-51 Mustang or a P-38 Lightning, not to mention the names of every pilot in the Black Sheep Squadron. John's first job as a teenager was a food waiter at Pelicans Wharf in McAllen, Texas.

From his teens through adulthood, physical fitness was very important to John. He dabbled in weightlifting for a time, but it was running that turned out to be his forte.  Jogging and running always seemed to come quite naturally and effortlessly to John.  His sister Judy recalls, “John and I jogged together a few times and he - quite literally - would run circles around me.”   

Without a doubt, John’s greatest pride and joy was being a father to his son, John Andrew.  John loved spending time with John Andrew, romping and playing with him as a toddler.  As John Andrew grew, John enjoyed the times they played video games together and helping John Andrew with his school lessons.  John was a loving dad; there was nothing more important to him than his son.

As an adult, John became well versed in the Holy Bible.  Despite many personal struggles, John always maintained his strong Christian faith.  On September 27, 2001, John went home with his Lord and will be forever loved and missed by his family and by everyone who knew his good heart.