John L. McCallum

John (Mac) McCallum, 95, of Nora Springs, passed away on Thursday December 5, 2024, at the Nora Springs Care Center. John will be laid to rest next to his wife at a later date at the South Shell Rock Cemetery in Northwood Iowa.

John was born September 24, 1929, in Goldfield, Iowa to parents Ralph and Bessie (Brush) McCallum. He moved to Britt in 1947. John would later enlist enlisted in the United States Navy in Oct. 1951. He served in Japan during the Korean War, received a Korean Service medal, and was honorably discharged in July 1952.

John was united in marriage to JoAnn Thomas on January 13, 1951, in San Diego, California. The couple then moved to Korea where John was stationed in the Navy. They moved to Northwood Iowa, but later settled and built their home in Nora Springs, IA. His last couple of years were spent at the Nora Springs Care Center where he had many great friends.

John was a lineman for the Northwestern Bell telephone company for many years where he would later retire. He was an avid golfer and member of the West Hills Golf and Country Club in Nora Springs, actively involved in the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls organization, Order of the Eastern Star, a member of the First Methodist Church in Mason City, and belonged to the Masonic Association of Mason City.

John and his wife loved to spend time with their close friends Arlynn and Ruth McHenry during the holidays and with many annual trips to Grand Marais, MN.

John is survived by his niece Elaine (Brian) Taylor of New Wilmington, PA, and dear friends Tom and Shelly McHenry of Buffalo, MN and Sarah and Lane Wacholz of New Richland, MN; and nephews, John (Glenda) Hopkins, Martin Hopkins, Brooke (Gayla) Hopkins, and Ken (Betty) Warner.

John is preceded in death by his wife, JoAnn; parents, Ralph and Bessie; sisters, Edythe, and Lois, brother Ralph Jr, and a nephew Ralph McCallum.