John William Gregg
John William Gregg died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack, on Saturday, June 26, 2021, in South Fork, Colo., where he was residing at the time. He was 71.
A small private memorial for close family members will be held Aug. 14 and 15, in Baldwinsville, near Syracuse, in northern New York State. No public memorial service will be held.
Per his wishes, his ashes will be scattered on the peak of a mountain in the Adirondack mountains.
Born Dec. 9, 1949, in Corpus Christi, John was the second of four children of ordained Assemblies of God ministers Clive William and Mattie Mae Gregg (Williams). He spent much of his childhood in countless towns in the Southern U.S.A., from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Key West, Florida, where his parents were pastors and traveling evangelists. His parents were pastors of The First Assembly of God Church in Marlin, Texas from 1966 to 1972. As teens, John and his sister, Lou Jean Stone (Gregg) sang together at church services before one of their parents preached.
In 1968, John graduated from Marlin High School in Marlin, where, standing six-foot-seven inches tall, he excelled as a basketball player. His basketball skills enabled John to obtain a full basketball scholarship at Evangel College (now Evangel University), in Springfield, Missouri, the next year. On July 24, 1970, at age 20, he married Glynda Sue Farquhar, in Chicago, Ill. They were husband and wife for 50 years.
During the Vietnam War, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army. Stationed in Berlin, Germany, he toured Europe as a player on the Special Forces Basketball Team. After his military service, he and his family moved to Streator, Illinois, where he taught Social Studies and Physical Education and coached sports in public schools. During this time, he received his Master’s Degree in Supervision in Education and an Educational Specialist Degree from Illinois State University. Subsequently, he was promoted to Assistant Principal and sometime later, to Principal, of Streator High School where his tenure lasted 23 years, from 1983 until his retirement in 2005. In retirement, he and his wife Glynda made their dream of living “on the road” full time in their RV a reality, traveling to every Presidential Library and every U.S. state but Hawaii.
He is survived by his wife, Glynda Sue Gregg (Farquhar); daughter, Michelle Renee Welcher (Gregg) of Baldwinsville, N.Y.; son, Thomas William Gregg of Baltimore, Md.; and four grandchildren, Gregg, Katie, Athena and Max. He is also survived by his three siblings, sister, Lou Jean (Mrs. John) Stone of Charlotte, N.C., and brothers James W. Gregg and David M. Gregg, both of Los Angeles, Calif.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to either the American Heart Association, http://www.heart.org/?form=legacy or the Men’s Basketball Fund at Evangel University. Donations can be mailed to Evangel University, Advancement Dept., 1111 N. Glenstone, Springfield, MO 65802, by phone at (417) 865-2815 ext. 7290, or online at https://evangel.thankyou4caring.org. Please indicate that your gift is designated for the Men’s Basketball Fund (D36506) in memoriam to John William Gregg.