John Franklin Lalicker, 98, longtime Silverton, Oregon resident passed away on May 21, 2021. John was born May 2, 1923 in Venita, Oklahoma to William L. Lalicker and Ella Mae (Catlin) Lalicker. He was the middle son of three boys.

In 1923, his family moved to Medicine Lodge, Kansas where he attended local schools and graduated from Medicine Lodge High School in 1941 where he lettered in football, basketball and track. John served in the Army Air Corp. during WWII. On August 3, 1943, he married his high school sweetheart, Eileen Page on her parent's ranch near Gerlane, Kansas.

In the summer of 1949, John, Eileen and their two small children drove their 1937 Packard, pulling a tiny trailer carrying all their belongings to Silverton, Oregon. John spent his working years in retail foods. In 1952, John and Eileen leased the meat market at the CO-OP Frozen Food Plant on Water Street, naming it Budget Market. There, they cut and wrapped farm stock and wild game. Budget Market occupied several buildings on Water Street until closing in 1972. After closing Budget Market, John worked another 20 years as produce manager at Fred Meyer.

After retirement from Fred Meyer, John started a lawn mowing business, which he continued until he was 75 years old. He used to boast that every two weeks he mowed 75 lawns with a push mower! John had many crazy stories to tell about his lawn mowing adventures, but the wildest one was when he was mowing his own giant front yard on his trusty riding mower. He liked to make perfect mowing lines so he drove out onto the street to make the turn and was hit by an oncoming semi-truck. The 911 call came in as, "lawn mower vs semi!" He lived to tell about it, saying he fared much better than his mower!

John was a member of the Silverton Rotary Club, the Silverton Volunteer Fire Department, the Masonic Lodge, and the Silverton Methodist Church. He was also an active Boy Scout leader. John and Eileen sponsored a Rotary exchange student from Indonesia and have continued correspondence with him through the years. While serving as a volunteer fireman, John often walked out of his grocery store and hopped on the back of the fire truck as it zoomed down Water Street (back when it was a two-way street!) John was an active member of the Silverton Masonic Lodge; acting as secretary, treasurer and even twice as Lodge Master. He was to receive a special award to honor his 75 years of service with the Masons in June. While all of the organizations John participated in were important to him, his relationship with the Silverton Methodist Church was very special. John served on many committees and helped the church for over 70 years. He even had a special pew that everyone knew was John's spot!

John is survived by his devoted wife Eileen, his daughter Kay Klaus of Keizer, OR and his son and daughter-in-law Bob and Betty Lalicker of Spokane, WA. His is also survived by four grandchildren Lisa Friesen of Silverton, Kevin (June) Shimp of Molalla, Cheryl Lalicker of Tri-Cities, WA and Joel (Dorothy) Lalicker of Fenton, Missouri,  thirteen great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and granddaughter.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John's name to Silverton Methodist Church or The American Heart Association.

A graveside service was held at Belcrest Memorial Park in Salem, Oregon.

An outdoor memorial service will be held Saturday, June 5 at 2 pm at Silverton United Methodist Church. Masks are required.