John Thomas Kohlmann passed away peacefully on June 13 at his home in Oak Harbor, WA. He was born in Montclair, NJ to Kathleen Ryan Kohlmann and Gunter Kohlmann. His family moved around quite a lot in his early years, with time in Athens, GA, Dallas, TX, Milwaukee, WI and then back to Montclair. Moving became firmly set in John's mind as normal. After a few years in Montclair, the family moved to Whippany, NJ, as John was entering 6th grade.
Subsequently John attended Hanover Park Regional High School. Growing up during those years, John became good friends with the girl across the street, Pat Loveland. After high school graduation, John attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, under a Navy ROTC scholarship. During his senior year, he started regularly dating Pat Loveland. When John graduated from RPI in June 1965, he was sworn in as an Ensign in the US Navy. The next day he and Pat were married in NJ.
John’s first military duty was at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, GA. Upon graduation, John was ordered to the USS Epping Forest, home-ported in Sasebo, Japan. What an adventure for him and Pat! The ship spent lots of time underway, with stops in Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. John and Pat left Japan in August 1967 for Groton, CT where he attended submarine school, then went on to Quincy, MA to join the pre-commissioning crew of the USS Sunfish, SSN-649. This ultimately brought them to Charleston, SC. John's next orders were to a major supply management center in Great Lakes, IL. True to “Join the Navy and see the world,” John next went to Saigon, Viet Nam for two tours.
After leaving Viet Nam, he attended language school in Monterey, CA, to prepare to move to Athens, Greece for duty with the Greek Navy. John and Pat’s 1st child, Cindy, was born there. The Navy next selected John to go to Post Graduate school at the University of Michigan. While there, their 2nd child Ryan was born. After receiving his MBA, John went to the USS Roanoke in Alameda, CA, then on to the Supply Center in Oakland, CA, and next to the NATO base in Naples, Italy for three years. John’s final duty station was Submarine Base Bangor, WA. He retired as a Commander after 21 years of service, in September 1986.
The family continued living in Silverdale for 15 years and John had a 2nd career as a real estate appraiser and business owner. As empty nesters, John and Pat next moved to Coupeville, WA and had a home built (which he designed). Both John and Pat became active in the Coupeville Lions Club and John served in various leadership positions, including President of the Club and Zone Chairman. He was especially proud of being able to start a Leos service club in the Coupeville High School. A desire to live closer to their grandsons developed, and so they moved to Woodinville, WA for two years, but the greenery and quiet of Whidbey Island beckoned, so they returned to Coupeville.
Sadly, during these last few years, Pat’s Alzheimer’s disease was progressing. Eventually it necessitated a move to Regency on Whidbey in Oak Harbor where appropriate care was available in the Memory Care facility. Pat was the light of John’s life, and that light was blown out when she died on April 10, 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic was locking the world down. Even in the midst of caring for his wife and struggling with her steady decline, John continued his activities with the Lions after transferring his membership to the Oak Harbor Lions Club.
John will be remembered as having a deeply caring heart, strong and stubborn personality, and an intelligent mind. He enjoyed playing games and feeding birds, and cooked amazing meals for his friends and family. His version of chicken curry was a regular favorite as a fundraiser item. He will be deeply missed by many, but anyone who knew him knew he longed to be reunited with the love of his life.
He is survived by daughter Cindy, her husband Eric and his daughters Cahaley and Lizzy, and also his son Ryan, his wife Annett and their sons, Larson and AJ. Also surviving John is his younger sister, Anita along with her family, brother-in-law Charles and his family, and aunt Naomi.
Donations in John’s memory may be made to the newly established “John Kohlmann Memorial Scholarship” administered by the Coupeville Lions Club to be awarded to a graduating participant in the Leos program who displays outstanding leadership capabilities. Please mail donations to the Coupeville Lions Club, P.O. Box 473, Coupeville, WA 98239.