ross the lake, and, upon meeting, John and Sherry were immediately smitten with each other. Even though John was a student at the University of Wisconsin and Sherry was a student at Miami (Ohio) University, they continued dating beyond the summer and were married in 1963. Soon after, they settled in the Madison area while John completed his Master's Degree at the UW. After graduating from the UW, John began his lifelong career in sporting goods retail -- first at Petrie's Sports, and later owning Sports Savers and Sports World. John was a fixture on State Street for decades, always greeting friends, customers, and anyone else who happened to be wandering down State Street, with a smile and a story. He loved being a State Street merchant, but what he loved most was helping generations of college students who worked for him (including his own children Bradd, Ginger and Trent) grow into successful adults and pay their way through college. It is not an overstatement to say that many of the students who worked for John became additional family members to John, Sherry, Bradd, Ginger and Trent. In addition to his family, John had a rich circle of friends, including the State Street Brats "lunch bunch", his Friday night "fishing crew", his friends from the Madison Curling Club, his friends from UW hockey and basketball games, his friends and the staff at the Waterford and, of course, his hunting and fishing buddies. Although John's physical ailments slowed him down toward the end of his life, he was fortunate to have such a strong group of friends - particularly after Sherry died in 2016. John is survived by his children Bradd, Ginger and Trent, daughter-in-law Amerika, son-in-law Aubrey, brother Richard, sister Judy, brother-in-law Mark, and grandchildren Cooper, Whit and Mac. John will be greatly missed - the world will not be the same without his laughter, stories, friendship and animal pancakes. A celebration of John's life will be held at Porta Bella 425 North Frances Street in Madison on Friday October 26 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Memorial donations in memory of John may be made to Fishing Has No Boundaries (http://fhnbmadison.com/), Ducks Unlimited (https://www.ducks.org), or The Aldo Leopold Foundation (https://www.aldoleopold.org/donate). Please share a memory. Cress Center 6021 University Ave. Madison, WI 53705 (608) 238-8406