JOHN ANDREW RAYCHER, Loving husband, dad, grandpa, great grandpa, brother, friend and, most importantly, a follower of Jesus Christ, passed away on Friday, June 19, 2015 at the wonderfully young age of 92. The instant he died on Earth, he was alive and rejoicing in heaven.

A brief service of remembrance with military honors will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 in the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road, Memphis, TN 38125. Services at the Rotunda will begin at 10 a.m.

John was born in Monarch, Wyoming, a small coal mining town, on November 9, 1922 to Andy A. and Martha Mock Raycher who had originally come from Pennsylvania.

In 1927, the family moved to Story, Wyoming where John started school and began working in his father’s rural grocery store. He graduated from high school in nearby Sheridan, Wyoming and in 1943, he quit work and joined the Army. World War II for the United States was in it’s second year, and he was sent to fight in the Pacific Theater. He served in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, New Guinea, the Philippines and Palawan. As the war ended, he flew over Hiroshima and Nagasaki on this way to Tokyo and, on December 7, 1945, he was shipped home and the world was again free.

In 1946, John married Cecelia Peterson from Casper, Wyoming and they took a wonderful honeymoon to Yellowstone Park. He began work at the Sheridan Veterans Administration Hospital, and in 1947, son Brian was born and in 1950, daughter Patricia.

He was in the National Guard, and in 1950, John was called to Korea where he served as a medic for one and a half years and returned home in 1952 after receiving the Bronze Star with “V” for valor. He started college and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1956 with a degree in nursing.

A distinguished career with the Veterans Administration took the family from Sheridan to Knoxville, Iowa, to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He completed his working career as Chief of Nursing Service in Johnson City, Tennessee and retired in 1979. Retirement years were spent traveling in the U.S. and abroad, visiting family, playing golf, and square dancing with friends. In 2000, they moved to Memphis to be close to kids, grand kids and great grand kids. Life has been a fulfilling adventure.

John is survived by Ceceila, his loving wife of 69 years who currently resides in the Gardens of Germantown; son, Brian of Collierville (and his two children, their families and two grandchildren); daughter, Patricia Kreitzer and husband of Rutland, Vermont (and her two daughters, their families and two grandchildren); sister, Martha Raycher Higgins of Valentine, Nebraska; a niece and five nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two young brothers who died in infancy.

Throughout his life, John exemplified honesty and integrity. He was devoted to his wife and family. He proudly served his country twice. He was blessed and so are those who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, and if you wish to honor John (and wife Cecelia) with a memorial, please contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association in hopes of finding a cure.

Memorial Park Funeral and Cemetery obituaries.