John Arthur Truesdale, 82, of Warrensburg, died May 9 with his loving wife of 60 years and son at his side.

Funeral services with full military honors will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at the First Presbyterian Church in Warrensburg, followed by a private interment at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church.

John was born March 16,1936, in Higginsville, Missouri, to Robert Lincoln Truesdale and Dorothea Betty Truesdale (McQuillan).

Truesdale graduated from Higginsville High School in 1954, after which he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he proudly served his country from 1954 to 1957 with the fleet Marines in Japan.

John married his high-school sweetheart Catherine Delores Rinne in 1958. The couple moved to Warrensburg shortly thereafter, where John became associated with Safeway grocery stores and later with Bi-Lo Supermarkets working for 24 years as a meat cutter. John later worked with the Warrensburg Parks & Recreation Department for 16 years as the superintendent of parks before retiring in 2000.

As an active member of the First Presbyterian Church, John was ordained both as an elder and as a deacon while serving on various church committees. He looked forward to the FPC Men’s Fellowship Group every Friday morning, a group he helped establish with a close church friend.

John was a former Eagle Scout and was heavily involved in the Boy Scouts as Scoutmaster to Troop 400 for several years where he and his son, Jevon, spent time together on numerous campouts and attended summer camp on the H. Roe Bartle Boy Scout Reservation every year.

Truesdale also coached the Warrensburg Warriors softball team and umpired countless ballgames, both softball and baseball. Every Christmas, John could be found helping with the Toys for Tots program where he enjoyed the company of his fellow Marines.

He loved his family, his home, and pretty much anything to do with the outdoors. Every morning, John could be found greeting the day by taking a drive in the country with his best buddy and loyal dog Rusty to enjoy the beautiful sunrises and wonders of nature that served as his daily inspiration and connection to the universe.

John Truesdale is survived by his wife Catherine, his son Jevon, his grandson August, and his granddaughter Arleigh.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Warrensburg First Presbyterian Church, to the Old Drum & Friends Animal Shelter or to the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves Toys for Tots Program.