John T Nailen

Our beloved husband and father John T. Nailen passed away at his home in Ogden, Utah, on November 4, 2013. His life was one dedicated to servicea€"to his country, his community, his church and his familya€"and he lived as an inspiration and trusted friend and advisor to all who knew him. John was born September 4, 1937, in Sayre, Pennsylvania, to Andrew and Genevieve Nailen. He joined the United States Air Force in 1956, serving with honor and distinction for 30 years. He met the love of his life, Sandra Caruso, shortly after joining the service, and she shared his life for 54 years, moving throughout the United States before they settled in Ogden in 1986 upon John's retirement from the Air Force. He worked another 16 years for TRW before retiring and enjoying full-time his lifelong loves of travel, trains, golf and spending time with his family. John's life and career took him from the small town where he grew upa€"Waverly, New Yorka€"all over the world. He joined the service after one year of teacher's college, and the Air Force saw the keen intellect all who met John would come to know; he was sent to Yale for Chinese language classes after a stint taking Russian classes during his basic training in San Antonio. He eventually earned bachelor's and masters degrees during his Air Force years, later becoming a teacher himself, and his experience and education led to periods when he lived in such far-flung locales as Morocco, Greenland and Hawaii. His children were born along his and Sandy's circuitous life path, one daughter along the eastern seaboard in Norwalk, Connecticut, another daughter in the southwestern desert of Roswell, New Mexico, and a son on the California coast in Lompoc, California. His childhood love of sports and trains continued through his entire life. He was a high school athlete who later became a high school baseball coach. And the railroads he grew up near turned him into a passionate collector of train history and memorabilia. He was an active member of the Hostlers Model Train Club in Ogden, and a trip with Sandy on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through the mountains of Colorado was one of the most treasured memories of the last years of his life. After moving to Ogden, he worked tirelessly for St. Joseph Parish, as a lector, lay Eucharistic minister, long-time organizer of the Summer Fun Festival fundraiser and working on the St. Joseph Parish Center and Education Building Fund as the building committee chairperson. John is survived by his wife Sandra, his children Patricia Maxwell, Mary Nailen and Daniel Nailen, his son-in-law George Maxwell and his grandsons Cameron Maxwell, Sean Maxwell and Tony Nailen, as well as his sisters Joanne Perrault (Peter) of Morristown, New Jersey, Mary Russell (Paul) of Binghamton, New York, and Nan Barnes (Paul) of Canisteo, New York. Services will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 514 24th Street, Ogden, at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 15. John's family invites all friends and family to join them for a celebration of his life, followed by the rosary, on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6-8 p.m. at Aaron's Mortuary, 496 24th Street, Ogden. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the St. Joseph Parish Building Funda€"details can be found at www.stjosephogden.parishesonline.com.