1950-2023
John Mike Pavlovic, Jr. was born in Munich, Germany on June 8, 1950 and went home to The Lord on January 4, 2023 at the age of 72. He is survived by his wife Marilynn Hays of Edmond, brother Fred & wife Shirley of New Mexico, daughter Tina Clark of Midwest City, son Jason & wife Candice of Sulphur, and 4 grandsons: Nick, Wesley, Jeremiah, & Matthew.
John was born to John and Corrine Pavlovic. He grew up in Iowa Park, Texas & graduated in 1969. After high school, he went to work for Southwestern Bell in Oklahoma City. In 1971 he married Anita Reeves and in 1972 had his first child, Tina. They moved to Byng, OK in 1977 and his 2nd child Jason arrived in 1978.
In 1980, John’s job moved him back to Oklahoma City and they settled in Yukon. He continued his career with SWBT & in 1984, he relocated to Elizabeth, Colorado, where they made their home for 2 years before being returned to Mustang, OK. John accepted a promotion in 1989, and returned the family back to Elizabeth, CO. John & his family embraced their ‘second hometown’, becoming deeply involved with the scouting community and making numerous life-long friends. John’s passion for the outdoors, combined with his love of teaching others, helped several young scouts earn their Eagle Awards, including his son Jason in 1995, his daughter with her Gold Award in 1990, eldest grandson in 2014, and a 2nd grandson in 2017. John’s skills and exemplary work ethic enabled him to accomplish a great deal in his lifetime, but his work with the Boy Scouts brought him as much pride & joy as did his exceptional work with AT&T. His Scouting Awards included the Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit, Scoutmaster Award, Commissioner Award, OA White Buffalo, OA Bronze Buffalo, Vigil Honor … and the love & respect of all the young people whose lives he touched.
John retired from Lucent in 2000, but wasn’t quite ready to stay retired, so he accepted a position with the City of OKC Fire Department, working with the Radio Shop team. John excelled at resolving technical issues, and enjoyed his 10 years there.
In 2016 John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Despite the difficulties this disease brought him, he refused to let it impact his positive outlook on life. He continued his work with the scouts, including his collection of tattered flags throughout OKC for the Scout’s annual Flag Retirement ceremony on Veteran’s Day. He enjoyed his volunteer work at Friends of the Library, the Lion’s Club, his work as a 32nd Degree Mason, Oklahoma Blindness for Kids & Prevent Blindness Oklahoma, helped with Christmas for Veterans at Veterans Centers in Sulphur, Ardmore, Norman, and continued to enjoy time with his friends and family. He and Marilynn traveled as much as they could, enjoying the beaches of Sanibel and Mexico, cruised Europe several times, and visited National Parks in the U.S. He enjoyed building his new home in Edmond, and was always planning for his & Marilynn’s new adventures. John was deeply loved by those who knew him, and will be forever missed.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers you make a donation to one of the following organizations: Parkinson’s Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, Masons, or Lions Club.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, January 28, 2023 at Matthews Funeral Home Chapel in Edmond, OK.
We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but are not able to. To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Click on ‘Videos’, then ‘Live Streams’.
John had such a huge impact on the lives of so many boys in scouts. That influence will carry on long after him as those scouts grow up to be scoutmasters and mentor more scouts. Condolences go out to Tina and Jason and Marilynn and all the grandkids.
On behalf of the Telecom Thunderbird Pioneers, we express our deepest sympathy upon hearing of the loss of John.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.
John was like a brother to me & Anita like my sister. He was well respected & always busy helping others. If you needed anything, he most likely had it somewhere in his house, garage or barn. I loved helping out with mowing their big yard, although I always managed to mess up his riding lawnmower somehow. He never complained and would laugh about it. He is one of these people who never met a stranger & could talk about almost anything. He certainly will be missed.
John was my Scoutmaster. He was like a 2nd dad to many of us boys. Huge loss for his family and any communities lucky enough to have John involved. Rest in peace Sir.