John Leland Sill

John Leland Sill February 13, 1947 – October 1, 2023

Orville Clifton Sill and Mary Virginia Morr proudly welcomed John Leland Sill at Indianola Hospital as the fifth child of six. John resided in Warren County Iowa his entire youth. He attended Ackworth Grade School kindergarten through seventh when the school closed. He then attended Indianola Community School through his graduation in 1965.

John was accepted to Georgia Tech and Simpson College but instead joined the Navy upon his graduation to help support his mother through an injury. Following boot camp in San Diego John was trained in electronics at Treasure Island, California following a year at sea on the USS R.E. Byrd (The Destroyer) DDG23. He then attended Nuclear Power School in Bainbridge, Maryland. Upon graduation, John completed Reactor Operator training in Windsor Locks, Connecticut then he was assigned to USS Andrew Jackson SSBN 619, which is currently at Portsmouth New Hampshire Ship Yards. Upon completion of an overhaul, it was assigned to its final homeport Charleston, South Carolina. He served as an Electronics Instructor at F.B.M. Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina until he was discharged in 1975.

In 1969, John married Rosanna Lea Gatrel and of this marriage, he had two adorable daughters, Laura Lea and Mary Patricia, born. In October 1978, he married his soulmate and life partner, Sharon Louise Hutt. He enjoyed square dancing, camping, and playing card games and dominoes with his beautiful, loving wife. He also enjoyed listening to original rock and roll and old country music. With his wife, they established their own business, J & S Telephone Service until retirement in 2018. He started welcoming grandchildren in 2002 with Leanna Anjonae Benton, then in 2005 Anna Marie Kamyra Benton and in 2007 William Cayden Benton. John was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, COPD in 2020 and Dysphagia after a bout of pneumonia in 2023.

He is preceded by both parents and sisters; Virginia Anne (2022), Harriet Violet Allgeier (2010), Linda Kaye Sill Hutchinson (2003), Joyce Emily Sill (Preceded John's birth, 1947), Myrna Colleen Couch (2022).

Survived by wife Sharon Sill, daughters Lea Goodrich (Brent), Patty Benton (Jerome), 3 grandchildren, and many loving nieces, nephews, and friends.