A career educator, John Leo McEachern passed away surrounded by his family at his home in Newton on April 28.

Born July 24, 1937, his early education was in a one-room schoolhouse in Drury, Kan. His family subsequently moved to Caldwell where he graduated from high school in 1955.   In 1957, he graduated from Garden City Community College where he played football on a scholarship and earned his associate of arts degree in education.  In 1960, he graduated with a bachelor of science in education from Wichita State University.   He received his Master of Science degree in education from Pittsburg State University in 1963.

For 37 years, he taught industrial arts in the Wichita Public Schools, the majority of that time at West High School.   He was a mentor to many of the students whose lives he touched.    He was devoted to his students and their success.  With a grant he secured in the early 1970s, McEachern launched a summer program devoted to underprivileged students whose assignment was painting their family homes.

McEachern enjoyed hunting, fishing, woodworking, construction, gardening, traveling and spending winters in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  His family ranked as his number one priority and he focused on teaching his offspring key life long lessons and instilling in them a strong work ethic.   McEachern never met a stranger and was well liked by those who knew him. He was known as a jokester and a devoted storyteller.

Though he and his wife of 62 years have resided in Newton for the past four years, they previously lived in Andover for 50 years.   While there, he served as a member of the Andover City Council and its Planning Board for several years.

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