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John Banks
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John Banks
To plant a tree in memory of John Banks as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
John Banks
To plant a tree in memory of John Banks as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
John David Banks, 80, of Dallesport, Wash. and The Dalles, Ore., passed away on Sept. 19, 2019, in Little Rock, Ark., while on a cross-country trip to visit family. John was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Dec. 30, 1938, to John Amos Banks and Rachel Margaret Murhammer. He was a brother, father, companion, pilot, aircraft mechanic and H&R Block tax wizard.
John grew up in Aspinwall and Mt. Pleasant, Pa.
As a young man, he was involved in Boy Scouts and gained an interest in mechanics and aviation. That interest led to his pursuit of an Airframe & Powerplant certification and private pilot license; he would often be found trading his labor for flying time.
After working at several small airports, he landed a career with Pratt and Whitney, in the jet engine quality control field. In this role, he taught and inspected component suppliers such as Sikorsky, Hamilton Standard and a myriad of others both domestically and around the globe. He was based in Rochester, N.Y., and then East Hartford, Conn., where he retired.
After retirement from the aviation industry, he moved to White Salmon, Wash., in the Columbia River Gorge. It was there he found a new passion for helping people with taxes and became a highly-skilled tax preparer for H&R Block. He worked there right up to his time of passing.
John’s hobbies included hunting, fishing, playing the fiddle and dancing. He loved to travel the country in an RV and was quite involved with the Sundowners and Northwest Steelheaders associations.Â
He is survived by his long-term companion, Doris Carter of The Dalles; three former wives, Patricia Sherman, Sherry Banks and Fritzie Henderson; three sons, Jeff, Joshua and Jeramie; daughter, Deborah; 11 grandchildren; and brother, Norman of Vancouver, Wash. He was preceded in death by his parents.
There will be a celebration of life in the spring of 2020 in The Dalles and thereafter, he will be interred in the Lone Rock Cemetery located south of Condon, Ore. Specific details will be published when they become available. All friends, co-workers and acquaintances are invited to each event.
To plant a tree in memory of John Banks as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.