Obituary of John William Desmond

John William Desmond Jr., 85, of Pearland, Texas, passed away on July 18, 2024.

John was born on May 15, 1939, in San Francisco, California to parents John William Desmond, Sr. and Anne Colwell Desmond.  After high school, he attended and graduated from the California Maritime Academy.  John then went on to serve in the United States Army, where he was a Captain and truly loved representing his country.

While in the Army, he met his beloved wife, Carole Fleshman Desmond in Virginia where he was based.  John and Carole were married on June 28, 1964, and recently celebrated sixty years of marriage.  They raised two daughters, Bonnie and Holly. John was a devoted father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend known for showing up when needed or to support.

After the Army, he worked as a marine engineer for Olin Corporation for his entire professional career spanning over 30 years. He retired from Olin in 2002.  In his spare time and during retirement, John enjoyed spending time with family, helping others (particularly with repairing their cars, appliances, and anything else that needed his expertise to fix), and building and flying RC airplanes.

John has survived by his wife Carole, daughters Bonnie (husband Rick) Jones, Holly (husband Wade) Bennett, granddaughters Lauren (husband James) Akery, Avery Bennett, Anna Bennett, and great granddaughters Paisley Akery and Presley Akery, and brother Peter Desmond. He was preceded by his parents John Sr. and Anne, brother Robert (Bert) Desmond, and sister Karen McMillan.

A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at 11:00 AM at the First United Methodist Church of Pearland, 2314 N. Grand Blvd, Pearland, Texas 77581.

John William Desmond will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the California Maritime Academy at https://www.csum.edu/support/donate.html