John Poljanec

Our beloved brother, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, John Joseph Poljanec, died on  August 1, 2015 in Lander, Wyoming, from old age. He was 91 years old.  He was born December 30, 1923, in Vincarje, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the son of the late Leopold Poljanec and Jennie Sink. He lived in Slovenia until 1929 and then moved as a small child to the Reliance/Rock Springs, Wyoming area. He attended school in Reliance graduating Valedictorian of his class and then attended the University of Wyoming. In 1942, he joined the Navy and served aboard one of the ships that went to Iwo Jima. He was discharged in 1946.  That year he married Mildred A. Radakovich in Rock Springs; they moved to Pinedale and Jackson to raise their three daughters. They later divorced and John married Malvene Jones Thompson in 1970 in Victor, Idaho.

John had a bright mind and enjoyed being a business entrepreneur. He owned businesses in Wyoming, Arizona, and Colorado including filling stations, restaurants, bowling alleys, a bus depot and commercial real estate, to name a few. He also selflessly served the communities in which he lived; in Pinedale he was the Lions Club president twice and a city councilman. He was on the hospital board and was an organizer of the Pinedale Bank, as well as the Ranchester Bank and the Bank of Lovell;  In Victor, Idaho he was on the planning board.  In Jackson he served on the Rotarian Advisory Board for Assisted Living in Jackson. Later he was on the Pioneer Homestead Apartments' board as President in Jackson.

John is  survived by daughters Sandra (Art) Strack of Littleton, Colorado, Deborah Meyer of Lander, Wyoming, and Eva (W. David) Alley of Syracuse, Utah; step-children Terry (Carol) Thompson of Mendon, Utah, Josephine (Ed) Warner of Gillette, Wyoming, and Jeffrey Thompson of Valley Vista, Arizona; 19 grandchildren; many, many great grandchildren and  great-great grandchildren; two sisters, Julia Davis of Rock Spring, Wyoming and Jennie (Frank) Desmond of Reno, Nevada.

He is preceded in death by his parents, stepfather Joe Button, both wives, one brother, Valentine Poljanec, and one grandson, John Alley.

Funeral services will be at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Jackson, Wyoming on Saturday, August 8,2015 at 2:00.  Interment will be in the Victor, Idaho cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family through www.valleymortuaryjackson.com