"Our love and condolences to John's family and friends. We are the next door neighbors of Liz, Jeff, Grif and Kennedy. Although we did not know John, we are beyond blessed and thankful to call The Wilson family our friends and neighbors. Liz told me I would have loved John as I too am an animal lover and respect animals beyond words. I'm sure Liz is an indicator of the kind of person John was and I wish I had known him. Our love, support and condolences to all who knew and loved him."
In loving memory of
John Thomas Archung
February 6, 1975 - January 3, 2025
We said good-bye to our beloved Superhero son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew and friend, John Thomas Archung (49) on 1/3/25 at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, WA. He was surrounded by his family and compassionate staff of the ICU.
John's life began on February 6, 1975 in Orange County Medical Center, Orange, California. He was adopted and then lived the first chapter of his life in Huntington Beach, California with his mom and dad (Judy and Ralph Archung). The family then moved to (Issaquah, Pine Lake) Washington in 1978.
He welcomed his baby sister Elizabeth into the world in 1981 with a kind, gentle and caring heart for her that he continued to exhibit for his entire life (minus his one early request to exchange her for a brother named Erik).
He was loved by many people in every chapter of his life. His school years were spent in Issaquah and he proudly walked with the graduating class from Issaquah High School in 1993.
During his school years, he was a Special Olympian participating in swimming, gymnastics, bicycle racing, basketball and Track and Field events. He also enjoyed skiing, bowling and hiking. John added his unique style to every sport he chose.
He spent the adult (and longest) chapter of his life living as independently as possible (with the help of many important beloved support staff from Maksu, Inc. until 2023) in Federal Way, Washington. He was a frequent visitor to Port Ludlow, Washington where he enjoyed swimming at the Beach Club, bowling, card games, hiking and all beach activities. He was incredibly brave and strong undergoing many hospitalizations and medical complications with the body he was given. He had no fear of anyone or anything. He loved animals of all kinds and had the uncanny ability to recognize the good in people. He was honest, hilarious, witty, creative and precious. He loved giving people nicknames immediately upon meeting them.
John's life was a gift to all who were able to see the beauty in his differences. John was not afraid to speak up when injustice was occurring. He also believed in the power of love and spoke of its ability to overcome all darkness in any and every situation.
John's belief system was clear to others and he made sure of this with his consistent, pure, good-natured intentions . This also included (but was not limited to) his refusal to eat certain animals that he believed were endangered (especially turkey and the Hereford). He also chose to strongly oppose eating shrimp because he believed the shrimp shells would remain in his stomach forever. He never smoked or drank alcohol and strongly opposed those habits. He appreciated healthy decisions in life (e.g. requested a surimi lunch sandwich daily in high school, but not to the extent of being a 'fish-a-holic' as he frequently labeled his dad) .
John took the liberty of letting strangers know how he felt about their health decisions (e.g. smoking cigarettes, and would do it most frequently in the name of Jehovah (which is the name he chose to use on his fishing license).
Other things that were on his radar and caused a negative reaction were when he witnessed social injustice, unkindness, loud, violent or aggressive language. He also was known to lay judgement on others who made the unforgivable poor choice to wear animal fur. He did say a swear word once in his life in the fourth grade and confessed it to his dad as saying the "D" word. He also did not prefer black olives or dill pickles.
John always loved Star Wars and the superheroes Superman, Batman and Spiderman (with the exception of the Hulk who he despised) throughout his entire life. In fact, he embodied these characters with how he lived.
He found inspiration and purpose from his own imagination as well as TV shows, movies, books and comics, especially if they were about love. John was frequently embodying his favorite character's best qualities such as Woody from Toy Story, Paw Patrol, all things Disney, Power Rangers, E.T., The Neverending Story and any figurine or action figure that could be drawn on and taken apart and put back together how he wanted (usually with random plastic re-purposed household items to accessorize his creations). John was a master Lego builder. He also loved God, angels, drawing what was inside of his mind, and writing and telling stories to any listening ear available. His world was guided by his personal take on reality.
John's perspective on life was unique and if he was in your life, it was a blessing. He is leaving behind many people deeply touched and changed by knowing him.
He is survived by his parents, Ralph and Judy Archung of Port Ludlow, Sister, Elizabeth and family, Jeffrey Wilson, nephew Griffin, niece Kennedy of Post Falls, Idaho, uncles Barry Archung and Rick Benoit of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Uncle Bob McMahon of Winona, MN, Aunt Barbara Archung of. Beverly. Massachusetts and cousins, Julie (Bill)Heise of Issaquah, Pamela (Mike). Cunningham of Mankato, Mn., Sally (Mike) Ptacek of Minneapolis, Mn. He is preceded in death by his Aunt Mary Kay McMahon.
John's family will privately say a farewell at a later date. The collective joy we have all felt through knowing John is encouraged to be shared by posting a memory, photo and/or well wishes on this virtual tribute wall. Let us celebrate John's memory with a (non-alcoholic!) toast in his memory.
The family has also chosen to honor John's life by supporting the following organization that helps people with disabilities here in Jefferson County, Washington:
Olympic Neighbors
P. O. Box 1923
Port Townsend, Wa. 98368
www.olympicneighbors.org
Tributes
"The memories i remember with uncle john are Me and my family were heading up to Bosie to visit my cousins in the summer of 2024 On the way up there we visited uncle john. We played with his dolls and watched Night Rider while playing with his toys. 2. He showed all his flashlights he had a big one. One was About a foot tall the rest were tiny he turned them all on. Those things are good but here's the best one. He was always so kind and nice and honest. He never was mean. He did not fight with me once and that's why I love him so much and he never left his soul is still here with us. "
" John was very funny.I liked that he was always creative with his words and making his toys. I remember one time he said he just visited Mt. Everest and he became friends with a vulture. I also got told about when he was on a date and he didn't like animal fur so his date was wearing a jacket and she told him to put her arm around her and he protested saying NO! because of the jacket so she had to take her jacket off and he still would not put his arm around her. John has had many sad and hilarious times. But what I love about him most is that he loves toys and has so many DVDs SO MANY!! He also loves TV shows and its really fun to watch them with him. Finally to be honest I was a little scared when I first met him because he was so different but once I got to know him I always felt comfortable. He was a great uncle Love You John ? LOVE GRIFFIN "
"I first met John in the year 2000 on a road trip to Seattle for Thanksgiving, I was immediately surprised when he told me he was adopting twin girls from Haiti, and that Liz hadn?t told me about this prior! I also met Ralph and Judy this trip, and started a beautiful relationship that continues to this day. It was (and remains) such a privilege to be invited into the Archung family, and become brothers with John, through all the directions that life brought. I don?t even know how to cover all the stories that I experienced with him, but I will try. Some highlights in my memories were seeing his absolute passion and love for the water and how he would swim with ferocity and view himself as a lifeguard. Seeing his mind work on an erector set, legos, and different puzzles that fascinated him was unreal. He loved baseball and was a Mariner supporter for life. He was a very easy person to get to know because he was so honest and forthright with his opinions! He had one of the most beautiful laughs you have ever heard, to this day I can still hear his laugh echoing throughout the entire movie theatre when we went to see Enchanted movie with him. There is no person I know more fun to take to the movies. One thing that is inextricably linked for me when I think of John is the care and love that Ralph and Judy gave him throughout his life. They were advocates and supportive of John in a way I had never seen. It always felt like I was hanging out with a living legend from all the childhood stories shared at dinner times. I believe John?s dream to become a superhero was more than fulfilled throughout his life with his superhuman power of love. I know John is physically gone, but he will live in our household for the rest of our lives with stories, situations of what John would have done when things come up, discussing what he would have liked or not liked about the situation, etc. Griffin and Kennedy miss him as their uncle and he gave them a gift by knowing him as well. Finally, the thing I am most grateful for from John?s life is that he was part of the nidus that helped shape my wife Liz into the amazing person that she is. She is a beacon of light to the world, and all that come in contact with her become more appreciative of life and more hungry for love. She has a heart for uniting people with disabilities and inclusion (when oftentimes they feel excluded) in the world around them. Cheers to John, one of the worlds best and a superhero legend!! Jeffrey Wilson, brother-in-law"
"I only met John a few times, but he most certainly left an impression. He left a feeling of love, playfulness, joy, and peace. I believe he was an angel on earth- teaching us all how to be better people. How to be authentic, to be honest, to be creative, and to have fun. Thank you John for being exactly who you were. What a blessing you were to your family. I will be holding them extra tight as they grieve. The world won't ever quite be the same. Emily Potter "
"As the last few days have passed, various sweet memories of John have been filtering threw my mind, and I have come to realize, and put great emphasis on being so incredibly thankful for my time with him. John's smile was always so bright, I knew it was coming straight from his heart, and he could light up my day within a matter of moments. We used to enjoy walks at redondo beach at least a couple times a week, as we were taking our walk one day he taught me the differences between a crow and a raven (IN VERY GREAT DETAIL!) I most certainly let him know that he had taught me something very new, and how much I appreciated his knowledge on this topic! I will always treasure the memories, as I know these are the gifts he has left behind for each of us that loved him dearly."
"I had the pleasure of being one of John's support staff at Maksu, Inc. for many years. I worked with John 8 hours a day 5 days a week. (Although it never felt like work!) I enjoyed being with him no matter where we were. Whether at Big Lots where he worked part time pricing products in the stockroom or volunteering at the local food bank hanging up clothing or just watching cartoons and movies together at his apartment John made life interesting. John also enjoyed going to the movies, going out for lunch every now and then, playing cards, and bowling. He always beat me at bowling! One of the most endearing things is John always called me Kath. Not Kathy or Mrs. Tobolski, just Kath! I will miss his unique sense of humor, his smile, and his laughter! John, you were my hero! Our deepest condolences go out to John's parents Ralph and Judy Archung, his sister Liz, brother-in-law Jeff and their two children. May God comfort each of you during this difficult time. God Bless, Kathy Tobolski "
"I will never forget one summer we went to Ocean Shores and we rented the 4 Wheeler bikes, there was 4 of us on this bike, I'm trying to get John to help use peddle and he said ? Jen I can't I have paralysis and my legs won?t move.? needles to say we got stuck in the ditch and he could not get off land walk due to the paralysis so I ended up pushing the bike out of the ditch with the help of some kind stranger.Last time we ever rented those bikes.? "
"Things I forgot to mention and wish I had included in the obituary were also John?s love of PUNS?. He was so punny. Also, his love for the Wizard of Oz series. We wish he could have seen Wicked. He also was looking forward to Mufasa. Another thing that was huge in John?s life was his love of baseball and the Mariners. I have memories of my parents taking us to the Kindgome. If he had to choose a second ?B? team though, it would have been the Angels.? "
"I will always have fond memories of John running with me on one of our Thursday walks and cruising the beaches when we would go clamming. He was always in good spirits and fun to be with."
"I will "
"I?ve known john almost my whole life, i have spent almost every day with him the last 3 years and it has brought such a light and kindness to my life that i will sincerely miss. People like john are hard to come by, a genuinely good soul. No judgment, just light. We loved to play games together, watch movies, draw, and play toys together. He could make things my mind could never comprehend, his intelligence was striking. He would teach me about space, every single character he?s ever watched, he knew a lot about animals and never wanted to hurt anyone. I cannot describe how much john meant to me. I can only hope that he knew. I am going to miss john so much. This is really hard for me but i keep reminding myself that he knew he was an angel so he?s just getting back to his work ?"
"It was my honor and pleasure to have met John on one of our Thursday walks. Instant inclusion rapidly moving to friendship describes John actions that day. It was a real treat for me. "