John Vincent McGaughy

Former Bainbridge resident John Vincent “Jack” McGaughy, 86, died of cancer June 23 at his Spokane home.

He was born Feb. 22, 1919, in St. Paul, Minn., to Grace and Charles McGaughy.

The family moved to Puyallup, Wash., where he grew up. He attended Washington State College, graduating in 1941 with a degree in electrical engineering.

On Dec. 6, 1941, the day before Pearl Harbor, he married Alice Vildmo. With World War II under way, he was employed by General Electric Company, ending up in Seattle, and spent the war years installing and testing GE equipment on many Navy ships.

In the course of his 39-plus years with General Electric, he moved between Seattle and Schenectady, N.Y., three times.

During his time with GE, he traveled to many remote locations in Alaska, all across the U.S. and as far away as Venezuela.

In 1962, he and his family moved to Bainbridge Island and bought a 100-year-old farmhouse that was to be home for 37 years.

He retired in 1982, and in 1998 he and Alice moved to Spokane to be close to their sons.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Alice; sons Michael (Connie) and Dennis (Liz) of Spokane, and Scott (Vicki) of Graham, Wash.; grandchildren Sasha, Casey, Joshua and Josie-Lynne; and great-grandchildren Taylor and Sidney.

A memorial service was held June 28 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Contributions can be made to Lutheran Community Services Northwest.